


Reverse the Curse

by starrdust411



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Always a Different Sex, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Once Upon a Time Fusion, Angst, Drama, F/M, Fairy Tale Retellings, Gen, Het, Long Lost/Secret Relatives, Love Triangles, Mystery, Secrets, Sibling Bonding, Some Humor
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-05
Updated: 2017-09-23
Packaged: 2018-07-29 13:39:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 23,697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7686673
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starrdust411/pseuds/starrdust411
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When two young strangers meet on the road one night, it seems like a coincidence. But once they find themselves stranded in a small town in Maine, they begin to realize that fate was guiding their path all along. (Crossover/Fusion with Once Upon a Time)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Matthew's earliest memory was of a waiting room. He could not remember why or how long he was there. Matthew could not even recall how old he had been at the time. He could only recall the sensation of the hard plastic chair against him, the harsh florescent lights stinging his eyes as he kicked his legs back and forth impatiently, and the slight chill in the air as he continued to wonder when his turn would come.

Matthew felt very confident in saying that his life was one giant waiting room and he was eternally next in line, waiting for his turn. At the moment, however, that analogy didn't feel quite right, because he seemed to be dead last without any hope of moving forward.

A puff of air and a long groan escaped him as the rain picked up. It was nearly pitched black save for the faint glow of the street lamps that flicked above him and even though it was only mid fall, the chill in the air felt more like the dead of winter minus the snow. He shuddered and pulled his damp hoodie closer around his body. It didn't help to keep out the chill or the rain, but a few less drops fell on the fogged lens of his glasses and somehow that made him feel a bit better.

Matthew considered sticking out his thumb and hitchhiking like in movies, but that thought evaporated as soon as he remembered that he hadn't seen a single car all night.

He had been walking for a good hour since leaving the bus station and not for the first time that night he began to wonder if he had made a grave mistake. Of course, leaving the bus station would not have been his first mistake, only his most recent one.

The sound of a horn honking in the distance caught his ears and Matthew's first impulse was to shuffle over to the side of the road in order to avoid being hit or splashed by the passing car. He twisted around and saw the headlights approaching in the distance. He glared at the car -- truck actually -- as it sped closer. He pulled his hood closer around his head, adjusted the strap of his backpack, and readied himself for the oncoming splash.

The splash never came as instead of zooming by the pickup truck actually began to slow. For a moment he was blinded by the headlights as they pulled up beside him, but it only lasted a second as the truck was soon right beside him. 

A cold knot of dread began to form in the pit of Matthew's stomach. As much as he hated the idea of spending another second in the cold, soggy night, jumping in the car of a complete stranger -- who could easily be an unstable serial murderer ready to hack him to pieces -- wasn't exactly appealing to Matthew either.

The side window rolled slowly down and Matthew watched as a friendly looking young man poked his head out. "Hey!" the young man called out. "Need a ride?"

"Uh-" Matthew began, ready to turn the offer down, but he quickly reconsidered. The rain was picking up and a strong gust of wind suddenly blew past. The road wasn't getting any brighter and he didn't know how long it would take for him to reach a decent town to stop in. Plus, the young man looked harmless enough and Matthew felt reasonably confident that he could hold his own against him in a fight. "Yeah. Yeah, sure." 

"Alright." The driver smiled brightly as he swung the door open and motioned towards the empty passenger seat. "Hop in."

Matthew pushed aside the doubt still clawing at the back of his mind as he stepped inside and was pleased to be greeted by a blast of warm air. He swung his backpack over his shoulder and onto his lap, feeling a slight bit of remorse as his soaked clothes dripped and drenched the leather seats. It was only the thought that this young man was likely some spoiled rich kid out on a spur the moment road trip in his father's car that kept him from feeling too much guilt.

"You can just toss your stuff in the back," the young man said, nodding towards the half back seat as he made ready to turn back onto the road.

"Thanks," Matthew said as he shrugged out of his soggy jacket. "Um, how far do you think you can take me?"

"As far as you need," he said with a friendly air as his window wipers kicked back into life and the truck began trudging down the pavement. "I'm a vagabond wandering free just like you."

Matthew rolled his eyes at the comment and tried his best to just focus on rubbing the chill out of his stiff fingers. "Well, I'm trying to make my way to Canada..." he began, but was quickly cut off by a light chuckle.

"Ah Canada. The great white country. Home of... snow and... stuff."

"You don't really know much about Canada do you?" Matthew asked as politely as he could manage. He suspected that the man had never been very well acquainted with a map of any sort.

"Uh, no, not really," he admitted. "But I suppose I can manage to get you to the border."

Matthew nodded in appreciation, resisting the urge to ask him if he knew which way to go. The two men settled into an awkward silence, the patter of rain against the hood and the swish of the wipers along the windshield filling the silence. Matthew shifted in his seat, feeling the weight of the heavy water soaked fabric of his clothing cling to the chair as he did so. His glasses were fogging worse than they had been when he was out in the cold and Matthew briefly considered wiping them off on his shirt, but reconsidered knowing it wouldn't do any good.

A gentle nudge as his shoulder grabbed his attention and when he turned towards it, he saw the young man was holding a piece of cloth in his direction. He accepted it with a quick thanks and went to work drying his lenses and frames.

"So, you heading up to meet some family up north?" the man asked and Matthew was relieved he knew that Canada was to the north. (Now Matthew could only pray that he knew which direction north was.)

"Um, no," he muttered, hoping his flat tone would be enough of a hint that he didn't want to continue this discussion.

"Meeting some friends then?"

He suppressed the urge to groan as he slipped his now dry glasses back on his wet nose. "No. I, uh, I don't really have any... I'm just looking for a fresh start."

The young man hummed in understanding. "I know what you mean. I'm on something of a quest myself. Just looking for a place to call my own as I travel along the open road."

Matthew was about the shake his head and roll his eyes, but stopped himself when his gaze settled on the dashboard radio. It was old and rusted and was operated by knobs and big clunky buttons. The whole interior seemed much the same, with patches of foam poking out from the torn leather seats and pieces of the plastic arm rest peeling away. He twisted around and glanced at the half sized back seat and saw that his jacket was resting on a pile of old clothes, a beaten up old duffle bag and a small box overflowing with odds and ends. The fact that he had gravely misjudged this poor man came crashing down on him and Matthew suddenly felt like an absolute heel.

"Oh, so you don't have any family either?" Matthew ventured carefully.

"Nope," he said flatly. "I'm a family of one so to speak. Spent most of my life bouncing around foster homes. I aged out a few summers ago when I turned eighteen."

Matthew felt his throat tighten as the stranger's words hit close to home. He turned to look at him and found that with his lenses now clear he could finally make out the young man's features in the dim light. Even sitting Matthew could tell he was tall with a lean build. His sandy hair was short and his sharp features were framed by a pair of glasses resting on the bridge of his nose. For a moment Matthew thought they looked very similar, but he pushed that idea aside chalking it up to just a trick of the lights.

"I was adopted," Matthew admitted, doing his best to focus his gaze on the battered interior instead of the driver's gaze. "Sort of."

From the corner of his eyes Matthew could make out the way the other man's eyebrow quirked at his words. "Sort of?"

He nodded. "I was three and this couple took me in. I was with them for about two years before they gave me back."

"Gave you back? I didn't even know you could do that."

Matthew nodded again, feeling his throat tighten and his eyes burn a bit at the memories he had done his best to tuck away deep inside of him. He rubbed at his cheeks with the heel of his palm, worried that a few tears may have already slipped out. "I didn't find out until I was older, but... but they gave me up... because they were having a kid of their own. A 'real' baby."

"Wow," the young man choked out and Matthew watched as his hands clenched the steering wheel a little tighter. "That is... _messed_ up."

Matthew found himself chuckling at his companion's bluntness. "Um, I, uh... I just realized I don't know your name," he said, because anything would be better than dwelling on their current subject for another second longer.

"Oh, right," the young man chuckled, taking a moment to pull his right hand off the wheel and offer it towards Matthew. "It's Alfred. Alfred Jones."

"Matthew Williams," he returned, accepting the hand with a tight squeeze.

A strange sensation jolted through him in that moment and Matthew couldn't quite shake the feeling that this wasn't the first time that they had met.

"Damn, your hand is cold," Alfred laughed and Matthew heard the nervous flutter he was trying to suppress as Alfred's hand practically flew away from his own. "You can go ahead and press your hand against the vents. The radio's busted but at least the heater still works."

Matthew nodded distantly as he rubbed his fingers before pressing them against the warm dashboard. Even as his fingers began to grow warmer, a different chill started to form in the pit of his stomach.

\---

Matthew didn't realize he had fallen asleep until he felt himself being jolted awake. He gave a soft snuff as another nudge came to his side. Matthew shifted, blinking a few times as the haze of sleep began to evaporate before his eyes. He was disappointed to see that the sky was still dark and the stars were shining overhead.

"Hey, Mattie, you awake?"

Matthew sat up with a start at the sound of the strange voice, his heart fluttering wildly in his chest. It took him a moment to remember where he was and who he was with. He looked over at Alfred and saw that his eyes were drooping and his figure was starting to shrug. "Ugh," he groaned as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "It's Matthew."

"What?"

"Matthew," he repeated, shifting until he was sitting up a bit straighter in his seat. "I don't really like being called Matt or Mattie."

"Oh. Sorry," Alfred laughed sleepily. "Most of the Matthews I've met go by Matt or Mattie."

"Well," Matthew said and left it off there because he didn't feel like getting into a debate about his own name. 

"Look," Alfred began after a few moments of silence slipped by, "I know you were sleeping and all but I'm dyin'. Do you think we can switch places for a bit?"

Again Matthew was caught by surprise by Alfred's trusting nature. The two were still very much strangers and Alfred was ready to hand Matthew the keys to his truck, the most valuable thing in his possession. A part of him felt a bit touched, while a bigger part of him was overwhelmed, because he hadn't gotten behind the wheel such a large vehicle before. The only car he had ever driven had been a beaten up old sedan that his foster mother used to let him borrow in order to run errands.

Despite his own hesitance Matthew actually found himself nodding at Alfred's suggestion. Taking over driving duties for a few hours seemed to be the least he could do in exchange for Alfred's generosity. They pulled over to the side of the road and Matthew was relieved that the rain had finally stopped, but the air had turned a bit colder.

Matthew stiffened as he pulled on to the road, feeling the weight of the steering wheel in his hands and noticing for the first time how much the interior seemed to shake as they chugged along the rain slicked highway.

"Um, how am I doing?" Matthew asked after a few awkward moments filled with sudden jerks and a few too many taps at the break petal. Yet when Matthew looked over at Alfred he found that he was already fast asleep in his seat.

Matthew didn't have the heart to feel annoyed at the sight. After all, it was nearly morning and Alfred had likely been driving for most of the day prior to picking him up. Instead he decided to concentrate on the way the flood lights illuminated the road.

It didn't take long for the monotony to take its toll on him and Matthew found himself slapping his cheek and pinching his side a number of times in the hopes of staying alert for a few hours more. He glanced at the dashboard radio and was disheartened to see that there was no clock to be seen. Matthew groaned as he drummed his fingers along the steering wheel. He felt certain that he had only been driving for an hour and the idea of waking Alfred in order to pull over a second time just seemed silly.

"Just stay awake a bit longer Mattie," he muttered to himself before wince at his own words. "Great, now I'm calling myself 'Mattie.'"

Alfred must have drifted off into a deep sleep as his snoring soon filled the truck. Matthew cringed at the sound that he could only compare to a lawn mower that had seen better days. The thought of pinching Alfred's nose briefly crossed his mind, but only briefly.

In that moment, something large and furry perched in the middle of the road was suddenly illuminated by the headlights. His mind instantly flew into a panic as the animal -- a wolf or a large dog maybe? -- seemed unlikely to move out of the way even with the truck's grill less than a yard away. His first instinct was to swerve and then slam on the brakes, never realizing that he was on a direct path into a brick sign on the other side of the street.

\---

"I can't believe you killed my truck," Alfred whined, his words muffled by his large hands which were currently covering his face.

Matthew frowned sheepishly as he stared over at Alfred's formed, hunched over miserably in the hard plastic chair in the dingy garage. They were fortunate to get in touch with a tow-truck at this hour and even more fortunate to find a mechanic (one who claimed to have been "up all night anyway") to service the truck, but none of that good fortune made Matthew feel one bit better about the accident.

"I'm really sorry, eh?" he said sincerely. It was probably the hundredth time that night (morning now) that he had apologized and he even though he already knew that Alfred wasn't about to forgive him any time soon, Matthew couldn't help but to repeat his plea for forgive. "I didn't mean to crash it. I was just trying to avoid hitting the wolf."

"A wolf?" Alfred snapped, lifting his head from his hands in order to glare over in Matthew's direction. "In the middle of _Maine_?"

"Wolves could live in Maine," he shrugged weakly. "Maybe."

Alfred's only response was to groan and place his face back into his palms once more. "This stinks," he grumbled. "This is total _balls_!"

Matthew wanted to say something, but thought better of it. There were no words he could offer in that moment that would help Alfred's mood. If anything, speaking would likely only get him in worse spot. Not that he wasn't in a bad position as it was. Alfred was his only hope left of getting to Canada, now without his truck he was stranded and likely back to hitchhiking his way up north. His stomach tightened at the thought and Matthew soon found himself sinking further into the folds of his hoodie.

The mechanic -- a tall young man, likely in his mid-twenties, who looked as if he hadn't seen the sun in quite some time -- emerged then with a grim look on his face. "Well," he began solemnly, his red eyes swiftly scanned the clipboard in his hand, "I can fix the rust bucket, but it won't be easy. Or cheap."

"Oh great," Alfred groaned, not bothering to unfold himself from his current position.

"The windshield cracked, the hood's smashed, the right tire came off, and the engine looks like it was made in the USSR," he went on, not bothering to take notice of the way Alfred was practically weeping in distress. "Honestly kid, where was that thing built? Pangaea?"

"Hey, it's a classic," Alfred huffed defensively as he craned his head up at the mechanic.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm sure the Flintstone mobile was a great ride, but if you want it fixed, it's gonna cost you." Without another word, the man tore off a piece of paper and handed it over to Alfred. Matthew could tell from the way his eyes widened and his skin paled that it was the bill.

"Oh...wow," Alfred practically wheezed and Matthew felt certain from the way his eye was twitching that Alfred was having a panic attack. "Ah crap. I can't pay for this."

Alfred looked to him then and Matthew was ashamed to find himself staring down at the floor. As much as he wanted to, Matthew couldn't help Alfred with the bill. The only thing currently residing in his wallet was soggy bus ticket and barely enough change to buy himself some coffee. His whole face flushed at the thought. He truly had messed things up this time.

Alfred stood up on wobbly legs in order to raise himself closer to the mechanic's height. He looked as if he had gathered most of his senses, but Matthew could still tell that there was panic in his eyes. "Listen, uh..."

"Ulrich," the mechanic supplied, pointing at the name sewn to the front of his jumpsuit.

"Listen, Ulrich," he began again, confidence growing with every syllable. "We're kinda cash strapped at the moment and... well, I don't think we're gonna be able to pay for all this. Do you think there's any other way I can wipe out all this debt?"

Ulrich hummed as he thought for a moment and after a few seconds of consideration a wide smile began to creep across his features as a mischievous gleam settled into his eyes.

\---

"Well, looks like we're staying here a while," Alfred grumbled.

"It was nice of him to let you work off the bill," Matthew supplied helpfully, but Alfred only responded with a miserable shudder. 

On the other hand, perhaps it was a shiver as the weather had gotten much cooler as the night continued to drag on. They both heaved a heavy sigh as they sat on the front steps to the auto shop where Alfred's truck was currently being held. Inside, the mechanic was likely getting ready to close up and with their only source of transportation indisposed, the two were completely stranded.

"Man, I am starving," Alfred sighed, a bloom of fluffy white air escaping his lips as he slumped down lower. "What time is it?"

Matthew looked at his watch -- its face scratched and chipped with a leather strap that was barely hanging on to his wrist -- and wasn't all that surprised by the position of the hands. "A little past two."

"Come on, let's see if there's any where in this one horse town that we can get a cheeseburger." Alfred stood and Matthew followed, because even though he had a feeling they wouldn't find anything promising following Alfred around seemed like a better option than sitting frozen on the rain slicked steps of the garage. "By the way, did you catch the name of this town?"

Matthew nodded even though Alfred was two steps ahead of him. "Storybrooke."

"Heh, lame."

They continued along in silence, taking in the sights that the town had to offer. Just as Matthew had suspected, there wasn't much to be seen as Storybrooke was a very small town. Along the street were tiny little shops with quaint little names and hand painted signs. All the stores seemed to be self owned and the goods on display in the windows didn't have any fancy labels or big names. A part of Matthew thought that it was quite nice and comforting, but after passing a shoe shop, a bakery, and florist all with their lights out and doors closed he was starting to feel discouraged as his own stomach began to rumble.

"I smell a grill," Alfred announced confidently as his back straightened and his pace quickened slightly. "Around the corner I think. Maybe a few doors down."

Matthew didn't bother to question Alfred's directions, only quietly assumed that he was part blood hound and followed him along as he made his way down the sidewalk. He was surprised, and delighted, when they turned the corner and saw a small diner just down the block. The bright red lights along the tin rooftop proclaimed the name as "Red's Diner" and Matthew was happy to see that the lights were still on inside. Clearly Alfred shared his feelings as he whooped and all but sprinted the rest of the way.

He reached the door just as it was swinging closed behind Alfred. The diner looked like any other: brightly lit, metal tables and booths, and metal stools lining the counter. Red foam seating, glossy red table tops, and a few red lamp shades were the only thing Matthew could see that could justify the diner's name, but even that looked very ordinary to him. There weren't very many people inside the restaurant, only a few men who looked like they were enjoying a last minute pot of coffee before heading off to work or home, but there didn't seem to be any clear indication that the diner would be closing anytime soon so that gave Matthew a small bit of hope. 

Alfred had already picked out a booth when Matthew stepped inside and the lone waitress occupying the restaurant was already making her way towards him with a pair of menus. "Hello there strangers," the waitress greeted just as Matthew sat in the seat opposite Alfred. "My name is Alice. I'm the owner, but tonight I'll be your waitress."

"So I guess that makes you the 'Red' in 'Red's Diner'?" Alfred laughed obnoxiously.

Once again Matthew couldn't see where the red name had come from. The girl was blonde, perhaps strawberry blonde, and pretty with warm green eyes and a kittenish smile. Although she did wear a red sash in her hair and a bright red apron around her waist. He reasoned that red was likely her favorite color and left it at that.

"You can say that," she laughed politely. "So what can I get for you two tonight?"

"Uh, is your kitchen still open?" Alfred asked with a glance behind the counter. The scent of fresh cooked food was still hanging in the air, but Matthew couldn't blame Alfred for being cautious given the late hour.

"Sure is," Alice told him with a wink. "You're in luck. We stay open extra late on Saturday nights."

"Awesome," Alfred breathed as he handed her back the menu without bothering to crack it open. "I'll have a cheeseburger, medium rare, everything on it, a side of fries, and whatever beer you have on tap. Domestic."

Alice laughed happily as she jotted down Alfred's order before grabbing his menu and tucking it under her arm. "Okay, sounds good. And for you handsome?"

Her eyes turned towards Matthew and he instantly began to sink in his seat. He was starving, but he didn't feel right eating after what he had done to Alfred's car. Not that guilt was the only thing stopping him from filling his stomach. "Um, I'll just have a cup of coffee."

"What? Come on Mattie, you gotta eat! We were driving all night."

"Alfred, I..." he began sheepishly, but didn't have the nerve to finish. He suddenly felt very aware of the few other patrons and the fact that he was currently wasting Alice's time.

"Hey," Alfred began, his tone softer and lower as he leaned across the table in order to speak directly to Matthew. "I'll cover you man. It's okay. Don't stress."

Again Matthew felt taken aback by Alfred. Even given all that had happened he was still willing to help Matthew and that level of kindness suddenly made him feel incredibly overwhelmed and uncomfortable. Yet given his current position (and the fact that Alfred had somewhat of a job at the moment) he didn't really think that he could refuse the offer. "Well, I guess I'll have a plate of pancakes," Matthew told Alice as he handed her his menu. "And... some maple syrup?"

"Not a problem," Alice said as she scribbled the order on her notepad, her smile widening as she wrote. "That was so sweet of you," she turned to Alfred. "So nice to your brother."

"We're not brothers," Matthew said and he blushed when he realized that Alfred had spoken the exact words in the same moment.

"Oh," Alice said with an embarrassed air. Her eyes widened as she looked from Matthew to Alfred and back to Matthew. "Oh my goodness, you're kidding me!" She gave a sharp laugh as she tucked her notepad into the pocket of her apron. "Wow, that's crazy. When I saw you two walk in I thought for sure you were twins! What are you then? Identical twin cousins?"

"We're..." Matthew began, but stopped when he noticed that Alfred was also speaking. They shared a glance for a second and Alfred seemed to resign to allow Matthew to talk first. "We're not related," he said at last.

"We actually just met a few hours ago," Alfred added and by that point Alice was nearly beside herself with laughter.

" _Whoa_!" she cried tucking both menus under her arm and giving her side a good slap. "That is unbelievable! Wow. I should really call the town paper down here. This must be some sort of one in a million coincidence." Alice took a moment to give out one more chuckle before announcing that she would get their orders and walked away.

A heavy silence settled on the table and Matthew suddenly didn't know where to look or what to do. He began staring down at the table top, taking in all the little imperfections he could see on its seemingly glossy surface, as he quietly wondered just how they could move past this awkwardness.

"Wow," Alfred said after several sluggish minutes had passed between them. Matthew ventured to glance up slightly and saw that Alfred was currently pulling paper out of the napkin dispenser. "That was... weird."

"Yeah," Matthew added as Alfred passed him a few napkins before laying a couple in front of himself. 

"Do you really think we look alike?"

Matthew didn't answer, because somehow the idea terrified him. The few times he had looked at Alfred, he had caught glimpses of himself here and there, and when they had shaken hands earlier... It was just too strange to consider. The idea that he had come across some sort of relative while he was trying to escape his life just sounded too farfetched for him.

Fortunately for Matthew he didn't have to give an answer as Alice soon returned with their drinks. "Alright, here's your coffee," she said as she carefully placed a mug of black coffee along with a tray of sugar and small saucer of cream down in front of Matthew. "And... I'm gonna need to see some ID from you," she said to Alfred, studying him carefully as she continued to balance his beer on her tray.

Alfred gave a nervous laugh as he reached into his back pocket and dug out his wallet. He pulled out his driver's license and presented it to her with a wide smile.

She gave a thoughtful hum before finally handing him his drink. "Cancer, huh?" she smirked and Matthew felt a jolt shoot through him. "I would have thought you were a Gemini."

"Nope, cancer," Alfred laughed as he tucked his wallet away. "Born on the fourth of July."

"Your license says you were born on the third," Alice noted and suddenly the diner felt very small and warm.

Alfred shrugged and took a happy little sip from his glass as Alice once again disappeared behind the counter.

"You... you were born on July third?" Matthew asked haltingly, suddenly unable to take his eyes off of Alfred's face.

"Yeah, well, that's what I've been told." He gave a heavy sigh as he took a large gulp of his drip before continuing. "I was found on the side of a road, didn't have a proper birth certificate or anything, but the hospital I was taken to estimated my birth date or whatever."

Matthew didn't say anything in response, not that Alfred expected him to, and began tearing open sugar packets and dumping them into his coffee. His hands were trembling and the first two packets practically exploded across the table, but after the fifth one he had calmed down enough to make neat little tears along the edges. If Alfred noticed this, or the fact that his spoon was clinking loudly against the side of the mug as he stirred, he didn't bother to point it out, focusing instead on looking around the diner and drinking his beer. His glass was empty by the time Alice finally returned with their food.

"So, two identical strangers wander into my diner in the middle of the night," Alice summarized as she placed their respective plates down on the table. She placed her tray down on the next table before grabbing a nearby chair and pulling it up beside them. "I want to hear the rest of this story."

"There isn't much to say," Matthew muttered as he continued to focus all of his energy on stirring his drink.

"Well, my home life sucked so I decided to pack up all my stuff and hit the road," Alfred explained breezily as he assembled his sandwich. "I saw Mattie here hitchhiking out in the rain so I decided to pick him up. I drove for a couple hours, but then I started to get sleepy, so I asked Mattie to take over. I must have been a sleep for maybe five minutes before he skids my truck off the road and crashes it into your town sign..."

"There was a wolf," Matthew added weakly, but he felt certain that no one was really listening to him so he didn't bother to say more.

"So, my truck's totaled and the bill was _huge_!" Alfred continued, confirming Matthew's suspicions that his words had fallen on deaf ears. "I worked out a deal with the mechanic and he said he'd let me work for him in exchange for new parts. Now we're pretty much stuck here until our ride gets fixed."

"Wow, that's rough," Alice put in once Alfred had stopped talking and began eating his late dinner. The smell of fresh pancakes under his nose soon got Matthew's own stomach rumbling and he decided to put off playing with his coffee for a while in exchange for slathering syrup on his plate. "So where are you two staying tonight?"

"No idea," Alfred said from between a mouthful of food.

"Well you are in luck," Alice said, giving the table an excited tap to emphasize her point. "My brother owns a motel. You can spend the night there."

"Uh, well..." Matthew began, once again feeling very put on the spot in the face of this generous offer.

"Actually, that's another problem," Alfred put in for him and Matthew actually saw his face turn sheepish as he spoke. "After this meal, I'm pretty much broke, so..."

"Oh, don't worry about it!" Alice said with a wave of her hand. "I'll talk to my brother Wilhelm and we'll work something out. You two kids have had it pretty rough lately. I'm sure he wouldn't mind giving you a break." 

Alice must have decided that the discussion was closed because she quickly pushed herself away from the table and disappeared into the back once more before either Alfred or Matthew could debate her. Alfred watched her go with a grateful smile and Matthew felt as if he were being suffocated by the whole situation.

"Alfred," he began slowly, feeling a strange sort of pressure building in the pit of him. There were so many things he wanted to say and ask, but they just couldn't find their way out of him. Instead he said, "tomorrow, I'll look for a job, too. It's my fault that the truck got messed up so it's only fair that I help pay off the damages."

"Thanks Matt," Alfred beamed and Matthew began to wonder just how long it would take them to get out of Storybrooke.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Name Guide:
> 
> Ulrich - Prussia  
> Alice - Belgium  
> Wilhelm - Netherlands
> 
>  
> 
> I actually started writing this story a long time ago, back when Once Upon a Time was in it's second season. Truth be told I actually stopped watching after season 3 (midway through season 3 actually), but abandoned this story way before then. While going through my old computer I came across it and liked what I had read so I decided to dust it off and post it here. No promises that I will finish it, but I'd like to try. And since I have no intention of getting back into OUaT, this story isn't going to feature direct plot points/story lines, but just have some references of those elements.
> 
> Also as you can see from the warnings this story will feature Hetalia and Nyotalia characters with "canon" and alternate names. I will be sure to list the names to clarify as we go along.


	2. Chapter 2

Morning came with great relief for Matthew as the previous night hadn't provided him with much rest. Alice had given the two of them a single room with two full sized beds and a view of the forest. It was a nice room, even if it was somewhat stuffy and the floral décor did feel a bit like something an older woman would have picked out, but it was free and Matthew couldn't complain about that. 

Yet what did bother him was the fact that as soon as they had set foot into their room, Alfred had turned on the television and stayed glued to it for most of the night. He greeted the TV as he were returning to a long forgotten friend and kept in on even as the two took turns in the bathroom, preparing to turn in. When they said their goodnights and turned out the lamps, Matthew thought for certain that the television would go off, but Alfred only turned the volume a few notches lower before slipping under his sheets and basking in the pale blue glow.

Matthew tried his best to ignore it by pulling the sheets around his head and turning his back to the light, but once the sight no longer bothered him, Alfred's snoring kick started liked the sound of buzz saw cutting through a lead pipe. Matthew estimated that he had slept for roughly an hour by the time morning came and Alfred headed out for his first day of work. He was tempted to stay in bed a bit longer in order to get a little more sleep, but Matthew decided against it, choosing instead to use all the time he could get in order to find a job.

By the time he was washed and dressed it was already nine and somehow Matthew felt he had no business being up this early. He made his way downstairs and found no one behind the front desk. The sight was somewhat of a relief as Matthew didn't feel up to coming face to face with Wilhelm when he didn't have anything to offer by way of payment. 

He stepped outside and found that the day was sunny and bright but there was still a chill in the air that made his hoodie feel more than justified. He walked briskly to _Red's Diner_ , which was just on the other side of the motel, _The Tulip's Den_ , in the hopes that Alice would be able to loan him a newspaper. 

When he entered _Red's_ he found that the diner was much busier than it had been the previous night. There was a patron at every table and two waitresses bustling about the cramped space. Matthew didn't see Alice anywhere, but made his way to the counter anyway in the hopes that someone could help him find her. 

He sat on an empty stool and was soon greeted by a young man behind the counter. He was tall and grim faced with straw blond hair and light eyes. A blue and white striped scarf was wrapped tightly around his neck and Matthew could see the outline of a pipe in the pocket of white linen shirt. "Welcome to _Red's_. How can I help you?" he greeted flatly.

"Uh, I was actually looking for Alice."

"She's sleeping," the young man explained. An alarm beeped behind him and he turned around in order to press a few buttons before removing the coffee pot from a burner. "I take over after she pulls the late shift," he continued as he began fill a few mugs with fresh coffee. Matthew reasoned that the man behind the counter must be the Wilhelm that Alice had mentioned the night before. "You must be Matthew. She explained the situation. She said you can have a free breakfast." He arranged the mugs on a tray loaded with cream and sugar before turning around to place it on the counter. "That'll be the end of the freebies though. I said that."

Matthew nodded in understanding. Somehow being cut off helped him to feel more at ease. "I understand," he assured him. "It was very generous of her."

"Yup, that's my sister," Wilhelm said distantly before reaching over to ring a bell just behind the counter. "Feliciana. Table fifteen."

"Okay!" A chipper voice cried out just as a young woman with auburn hair pulled back into a high pony tail came up beside Matthew in order to grab the tray of drinks. She offered Matthew a quick "good morning" before moving right along.

"What can I get for you?" Wilhelm asked.

Matthew opened his mouth to answer, but another young woman came up beside him and cut him off. "Eggs, bacon, and whatever the fuck for table twelve," the waitress huffed as she slammed down her slip of paper in front of Wilhelm.

"Nice Catalina," Wilhelm drawled as he slid the ticket off the counter. "Let's just hope you took better notes than that."

The waitress, Catalina, didn't bother to respond. She merely gave out an annoyed huff before moving on to wait on another table.

Wilhelm shook his head, bemused by what must have been a common sight, before turning his attention back to Matthew. "What'll you have?"

"Um, do you have a newspaper?" he asked as the frantic nature of the restaurant began to weigh down on him. 

"'Fraid not. Delivery's always late on Sunday. Anything to eat?"

Matthew thought for a second. "I'll have a short stack of pancakes with maple syrup and a cup of coffee."

Wilhelm nodded, jotted the order down and then went to work filling it. He had his coffee in less than a minute and Matthew went to work putting in the proper amount of cream and sugar as the morning rush continued on around him. 

Matthew had set his attention on the television set mounted to the far wall of the diner, reading the day's forecast since the weatherman's voice was drowned out underneath the chattering customers. The segment had switched over to sports highlights by the time he heard a throat being cleared behind him.

"Matthew? Matthew Williams?" an authoritative tone boomed from just over his shoulder and Matthew caught the way a few of the patrons had stopped their chatter and glanced in his direction. Matthew turned around slowly and saw a tall, broad shouldered man standing behind him. His blond hair was neatly slicked back and his blue eyes were ice cold, yet what really caught Matthew's attention was the green jacket with the Sheriff's badge clipped to its lapel. "Are you Matthew Williams?" the man asked again and Matthew felt his stomach do a flip.

"Yes, yes I am," he answered meekly. "Is there a problem officer?"

The Sheriff shook his head wearily before answering. "That brother of mine has some sense of humor. Not telling me about a crash and possible DWI until the next morning."

Matthew blushed as all conversation within the diner stopped completely and even the staff began studying him crucially. He had never been the center of attention before and the new sensation didn't feel the least bit welcomed. "I wasn't under the influence of anything last night," he assured. "Just a little tired."

"You'd be surprised how similar those two conditions can be," the Sheriff huffed as he crossed his arms over his chest, causing Matthew to shrink down further in his seat. "We don't get many visitors around here and I need to know that you and your friend aren't going to be causing any trouble for however long you plan to stay."

"I... I don't plan on doing anything," Matthew promised and his words seemed to satisfy the officer.

The Sheriff nodded, his stance relaxing ever so slightly, but his gaze never left Matthew's face. "I'll let you off with a warning this time," he told him sternly. "Just make sure to stay out of trouble." The Sheriff gave Matthew one last hardened look before turning to leave.

Once the bell above the front door chimed to signal his departure, the diner slowly began to regain its lively air and Matthew felt completely drained. "Who was that?" he asked Wilhelm when he delivered his plate of pancakes.

"Sheriff Hardass," Catalina spat as she waited for her tray to be refilled.

"That's Sheriff Reitherman," Wilhelm corrected as he placed two plates of waffles, a dish of scrambled eggs, and a pitcher of orange juice onto Catalina's waiting tray. "Ulrich's _younger_ brother if you can believe it. Stay out of his way and you'll be just fine."

"I think he's kinda cute in a scary sort of way," Feliciana put in with a chipper note which only caused Catalina to groan in disgust.

"Put those thoughts out of your head, sorella," she warned her sagely as she balanced her tray in her well trained arms. "All men are trouble."

\--

"Yeah, the Sheriff came to see me too," Alfred confirmed. Matthew was surprised to see that he was already wearing a jumpsuit of his own and that his most of his lower half was covered in grease, yet he had a feeling that Alfred hadn't even touch a car yet. "Apparently Ulrich called his brother this morning just before I came in. Kind of a dick move if you ask me."

"I heard that kid!" Matthew and Alfred jumped at the sound of Ulrich's shrill voice. They turned and found him stepping out from behind a half open door and marching towards them. "Just be lucky I didn't tell my brother to arrest your ass, because I can totally do that."

"Yeah right," Alfred grumbled under his breath and was rewarded with a shooting glare from Ulrich, a look made all the more intimidating by his flashing red eyes. "I mean, uh, I think I'm going to go familiarize myself with the supply closet," he muttered weakly before quickly shuffling away.

A proud smile settled upon Ulrich's pale features as he casually made his way to a nearby coffee pot resting on a cluttered counter top. "Kids today, no respect for their employers," he said to himself with a wry, self-aware laugh.

Matthew fidgeted slightly, feeling very uneasy at being alone with the sheriff's brother. He wasn't certain what sort of relationship the two had, but he was certain that he didn't want to cross either of them if he could help it. He cleared his throat and began edging towards the door, a polite excuse for leaving forming on the tip of his tongue, but Ulrich pulled him back in by placing a hand on his shoulder and a mug of coffee under his nose.

"You look like hell," Ulrich observed and his base comment reminded Matthew of Alfred. "The beds at the _Tulip_ aren't what they used to be, huh?"

Matthew offered a quick thanks as he accepted the warm mug. He wasn't normally one to drink more than one cup of coffee in a single morning, but given the night he'd had Matthew felt that he needed it. "How did you know I stayed at _The Tulip's Den_?"

"Where else would you stay? The town only has one motel."

He nodded and took a thoughtful sip of his drink. "Well, the room was very nice, but Alfred snores like a buzz saw so..."

Ulrich gave a sharp laugh at the comment as a fond sort of look settled onto his features. "Yeah, rooming with your brother's never easy. Man, I could tell you some stories about old Wolfgang..."

"Oh, we're not related," Matthew cut in, feeling a bit guilty at having cut Ulrich off.

"You're kidding me!" Ulrich's eyes widened as he looked from Matthew to the supply closet where Alfred had hidden himself and back again. "Whoa! Could've fooled me. I thought you two were twins."

"I've been told," Matthew said as politely as he could manage while he looked around the cramped little room in order to find something to help him change the subject. His eyes landed on a birdcage hanging just overhead and he decided that it would suit his purpose. "You don't see many auto garages with canaries, eh?" he noted as he took another sip from his borrowed mug.

"You mean Little Ullie?" he asked as he turned to smile warmly up at the little bird. Ulrich reached over and tapped the base of the cage with his knuckles and the little yellow bird responded by twittering as it leapt from its perch and onto the bars. "He's my VP. This whole place would fall apart without him." The bird gently rubbed his beak along Ulrich's knuckles and the sight caused Matthew to smile despite his own unease. "D'you like animals?" Matthew sputtered for a moment, caught off guard by the sudden question, but Ulrich continued before he could regain himself. "Alfred told me you were looking for a job. There's a vet in town that might be hiring."

"Oh. Thank you. I'll be sure to look into it."

"If that doesn't turn out, my friend Alvero owns a grocery store. He'll give you a job. Compliment his tomatoes and he'll be your best friend. And that's not a euphemism."

Matthew chuckled as his cheeks began to grow pink and he was rewarded by the sight of Ulrich smiling at him. A phone rang at the other end of the shop and Ulrich didn't bother to excuse himself before walking away in order to answer it. Once Ulrich was completely engrossed in his call, Alfred stuck his head out of the supply closet before tip toeing over to Matthew's side.

"Nice work Matt," he whispered with a sly smile. "Keep that up and maybe Big Ullie will start chipping away at our bill."

Matthew bristled as he studied Alfred's expression. "What are you talking about?"

"Come on, don't play dumb," he whispered, rolling his eyes and nodding his head toward Ulrich's office. "He's totally flirting with you."

"No he's not!"

"Yeah he is." Alfred's face slowly began to grow serious as realization slowly dawned on him. "Mattie, I didn't mean to-"

"I think you did."

"I'm not saying that _you_ were-"

"You sort of were."

"Well... are you?"

Matthew didn't need to look into a mirror to know that his face had gone bright red and in that moment he was absolutely certain that he didn't like Alfred at all. "Go to hell, Alfred," he huffed as he stormed out of the garage.

\--

Walking briskly down the unfamiliar street it took Matthew a while to realize that he had no reason to be angry. Despite his tactless way of speaking, Alfred had neither said nor done anything offensive. He had only made an observation and pointed out something that Matthew had clearly overlooked. What's more Matthew was comfortable enough with himself not to mind being flirted with. He supposed what had truly upset him was the nature of Alfred's question.

They had known each other for less than twenty four hours and yet their conversations were continuing to grow more and more personal. Revealing his brief adoption and subsequent abandonment was already more information than Matthew had ever offered another person in all of his twenty one years, but discussing his sexual preferences with someone who was still a perfect stranger... The whole situation made him feel horribly exposed, as if every minute he spent with Alfred caused another layer of skin to be peeled clean off, and in that moment the idea of walking straight out of town was growing more tempting with every step he took.

He had just passed by what appeared to be a boarded up old library when he realized that someone was calling him. The voice was faint and unfamiliar and when Matthew took a moment to glance over his shoulder, he saw a little girl sprinting towards him. She was waving her arms about wildly in the air, a welcoming smile on her face and an excited gleam in her eyes. The sight was so startling that Matthew actually found himself coming to a halt in the middle of the road.

"It's you!" she breathed once she had caught up to him. "Oh wow it's really you!" 

Matthew looked around in confusion, but found no one else nearby that the girl could have been referring to. She took a moment to catch her breath and Matthew took the opportunity to study her. She was a scrawny little thing, with a head full of long black hair pulled back into loose pigtails and tied off with red ribbons. Her eyes were chocolate brown and surprisingly wide and her golden brown cheeks were touched with a slight flush from her little sprint. Not one bit of her looked familiar to Matthew and he felt himself slip further into his well of confusion.

"I can't believe it's already been twenty one years," she went on. Her smile widened, if that were at all possible, as she studied him carefully. "You're a lot taller than I thought you would be, but I guess that's natural. You're a grown boy and all! So where's your brother? He's here too, right? When I heard that two strangers had come into town I had _hoped_ that it was you, but wow! Seeing you just makes it that much better!"

"Uh, I don't have a brother," Matthew began slowly. A car came to a sudden stop in front of them and began honking at the two. Matthew jumped and started walking until they were both safely on the sidewalk. "And I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Oh, you wouldn't would you?" she muttered as disappointment settled onto her features. She glanced down thoughtfully at her feet for a moment before brightening again and lifting her gaze towards him. "Well think of me as your spirit guide and I'm here to lead you on your quest."

"Quest?"

She nodded, practically skipping along beside him. "Your quest to break the curse."

"What curse?"

"The one this town is under." Matthew looked around at the little brick buildings and dingy windows and the people bundled in big warm sweaters who walked by him. Nothing about his surroundings said "cursed" to him and he was suddenly convinced that this little girl was trying to pull him into a game she was playing. "I know everything looks normal," she went on as if reading his thoughts, "but it's not. It's part of the curse. You see, I'm not from here, none of us are. We're from another world different from yours, but we were forced here against our will by the curse."

"Okay," he began slowly as a shop keeper stared at him briefly before smiling and turning back to his business. "Well this must not be such a bad curse if everyone's so happy."

"They're not really happy," the girl tsked sagely. She turned to glance over her shoulder at the same shop keeper, a look of pity on her young features. "And they don't know about the curse. You see, when we came here, everyone had their memories erased so none of them can remember who they were in our world. They don't know that this isn't our land."

"Right." Matthew stopped again and wasn't at all surprised when the girl stood still beside him. "Listen, this is a really cute story and you have a great imagination, but-"

"You don't believe me," she sighed, stuffing her hands into her jacket pockets. She shook her head sadly in a way that she had likely seen done before and had practiced in a mirror. "I should have known you wouldn't believe me. The hero never believes right away. If you did, then you wouldn't have much of an arc to overcome."

He chuckled at her “perceptive” words. "Actually, I was going to say I don't have time to play with you, eh?" he corrected gently. "I need to find a job."

"A job?"

"Yeah, you see my truck's in the shop. Well it's not really _my_ truck, it's my friend's (not that he's really my friend), and we need to raise money in order to fix it so we can head to Canada."

"You can't leave!" she cried out, her wide eyes growing desperate at the very idea. "You just got here!"

"Well I don't know if I want to stay in a cursed town too long." He gave her a friendly wave goodbye as he began to walk away. Matthew was just considering whether he should try to find the vet or the grocer first, when a gentle tug came at the sleeve of his hoodie. He was only mildly surprised to see the brown eyed girl was at his elbow. 

"I can help you find a job," she promised him.

"Is your game over already?"

She smiled, a twinkle in her eyes and something hidden in her grin. "Let's just say it's on hold. But I'm friends with the town baker and I know for sure she's looking for an assistant."

\--

"This is a really big house for a baker," Matthew noted as they reached the gate of a large white house at the very end of the road. 

The house was grand and surrounded by a lush garden and thick trees with golden and orange colored leaves. Matthew could see a pair of white rocking chairs on the front porch and a beautiful glass door framed by black wood. It was a lovely place to be certain, but the black gate surrounding it gave off a somewhat foreboding air.

"Of course," the brown eyed girl shrugged as she walked over to the iron bars as naturally as could be. "The mayor's house is the biggest in town."

"This is the _mayor's_ house?" he gapped. Matthew looked down at his worn sneakers, his mud coated jeans, and his beaten old hoodie. He wasn't dressed for an interview with the mayor. "I thought you said you were taking me to the baker?"

"She's married to the mayor," she clarified with a laugh just as she rang the bell and buzzed the intercom mounted to the wall. "Francoise? Are you home? It's Angelique. I've brought someone to meet you." The girl, Angelique, took a step back and soon a buzz pierced the air as the gates slowly swung open, granting them entry. Angelique walked confidently inside and Matthew hunched his shoulder a bit before following her.

"So your name is Angelique?" he asked casually. "That's pretty."

"Thanks," she answered indifferently, "but that's not my real name."

Matthew was about to ask her what she had meant by the statement, but they had already reached the front door and his foot had barely touched the porch steps when the glass door swung open.

Beautiful was the only word Matthew could think when he saw the woman waiting before him. She wasn't particularly tall or short or thin or full, but simply just so. Her skin was flawless and her eyes were a kind yet alarming shade of violet blue and her perfectly decorated face was framed by golden brown hair that end just along her collarbone. The dress she wore was a deep purple, almost black, and the material hugged her curves perfectly. Her long fingers had glossy red tips and her soft lips were pursed in a slight pout as she stared at Matthew. His heart fluttered and then crumpled as he became even more painfully aware of his own appearance.

The well put together glow of her shifted away slightly as she slipped out of her likely well practiced pose in order to bend down and engulf Angelique in a warm hug. She smiled and placed a kiss to the girl's cheek, murmuring a few words in French as she greeted her. "You are just in time," she said, slipping easily into English. "I have just made out a fresh batch of strawberry macarons. Feel free to help yourself."

Angelique didn't seem to need any further coaxing as she quickly disappeared inside, leaving Matthew stranded with the lovely woman.

"You must be one of the strangers who came to town last night," the woman, Francoise he guessed, concluded. She crossed her arms just under her chest and rested her frame gracefully against the doorframe. Matthew had to marvel at her ability to make even the most mundane movements seem as if they were staged for a photo shoot. Francoise flashed him a disarming smile in response to the perplexed look that had settled on Matthew's face. "Word spreads quite quickly around here."

"It must," he chuckled hesitantly. "I only just got here last night."

"It is a _very_ small town," she said with an exasperated sigh. 

Francoise motioned for him to enter and while Matthew was a bit apprehensive, he knew that refusing the invitation would seem more than a bit rude. As impressive as the house had appeared on the outside, Matthew found himself feeling even more overwhelmed by the elegance within. The foyer was so spacious that Matthew actually heard his footsteps echoing as he strode along the polished wood floors. Bright white linen and soft neutral hues covered the home from top to bottom. Everything was so fresh and pristine that Matthew couldn't help feeling like a smudge on the floor.

He was lead into the living room (or the sitting room, he could never be certain of the correct term) where Francoise invited him to take a seat on a white suede sofa with plush pillows wrapped with a purple floral pattern. The thought that his clothes would surely stain the upholstery gave him pause, but only for a moment as the fear of coming off as rude was greater still. He sunk deep into the cushions, but was careful to keep his back arched for terror of appearing too comfortable.

"Would you care for something?" Francoise asked. "Coffee? Something to eat Monsieur...?"

"Matthew and no thank you," he said with a polite smile. "I just ate breakfast a little while ago."

"Ah, then you will be ready for brunch," she concluded cheerfully before disappearing just out of sight. She was gone for only a moment, yet in that short time she had managed to load a polished silver tray with a coffee pot, two sets of mugs, a tray of sugar, a saucer of milk, a plate of croissants, a stack of sliced bread, a jar of what appeared to be fresh jam, a dish of butter, and a small bowl of strawberries. She laid them all out on top of the coffee table and for a moment Matthew wondered if the glass would give in under the tray's weight. "I love to feed people," she explained to him as she settled into a plush leather chair across from Matthew. With a pleasant smile on her painted lips, she took a mug of coffee from the tray and added only a drop of milk before giving it a careful sip. "It is my greatest passion in life."

"Is that why you opened your bakery?" Matthew asked. Despite his own discomfort, and the fact that he had just finished a plate of pancakes less than an hour ago, he found himself unable to resist taking one of the croissants and adding a bit of butter and jam to its flaky surface.

Even as he was fixing his plate, Matthew managed to catch the odd look that settled upon Francoise's face. It was a strangely vacant expression that caused her eyes to turn almost glassy as she seemed to consider something that was just beyond her grasp. She blinked a few times and suddenly she was smiling, weakly, and nodding her head. "Yes," she said at length. "Yes I suppose so." Francoise cleared her throat and took another sip of her coffee before speaking again. "So, what brings you here this fine Sunday morning?"

"Oh, your..." Matthew started to say "daughter," but stopped himself upon realizing that there was absolutely no similarities between the little girl and the woman sitting in front of him. What's more, Angelique had called Francoise by her first name, not mother, when she had rung the intercom. Surely the two were not related. "Well, you may have heard that my truck crashed into the sign just outside of town. It's currently in the shop and my friend and I don't have enough money to pay for the repairs. I bumped into Angelique on the street and she told me that she would help me find a job. Naturally I was skeptical..."

"Ah, so you wish to be my new assistant," Francoise concluded with an eager little grin. Her eyes were practically twinkling as she set down her coffee and edged closer to him."Bon! Wonderful. Do you have any experience in the kitchen?"

Matthew blushed, recalling the summer he had spent flipping burgers at a local fast food chain. "Very little."

She hummed yet the twinkle in her eyes never wavered. "Well, then I shall have to teach you," she concluded with a dismissive wave of her hand. "I do not need a pastry chef," she explained. "I am a wonderful cook on my own, as you can see. Everything here was made by me! What I really need is someone to mind the front end of the store: check the till, sweep the floor, keep the display windows stocked, and other such things. Do you think you could handle this?"

"Well, I worked at a gas station until recently," he offered and Matthew couldn't help but wonder how stupid he sounded to Francoise.

"Then you have experience," she concluded. "I open very early and part of your job will be making deliveries. Will you be able to handle that?"

"I suppose so. Although, I don't really have a car at the moment."

"There is a truck that you may use. Do you have a license?"

"Yes, but I'm afraid that I'm not the best driver."

"Neither am I," she laughed and Matthew wondered if she was taking anything he said seriously. Francoise gave a content sigh as she leaned back in her chair, crossing her long legs gracefully as she did so. "I have a good feeling about you, Matthew," she told him as she folded her hands in her lap. "I can tell just by looking at you that you are a hard worker. Although, if you are going to work for me, then you must do something about your clothes."

Matthew blushed at the comment suddenly feeling extremely uncomfortable and far too aware of himself. He had just begun to wonder if there was anywhere in town where he could at least wash his clothes when the sound of heavy foot falls caught his ear. Francoise must have heard the noise herself as she turned to look over her shoulder just as a man appeared in the entry way.

The man was tall and broad shoulder with flaming red hair and a strong sharp chin. His deep green eyes landed on Matthew right away and began to tear into him bit by bit. "You didn't tell me that we were having company, darling," the man said gruffly, his gaze never wavering from Matthew's face.

Francoise let out an airy laugh as she gently lifted herself from her seat and all but glided to the man's side. She placed a soft kiss to his cheek and was rewarded with a heavy hand on her hip. "Wallace, mon cher," she purred into his ear, "this is Matthew. He is interviewing to be my new assistant. Matthew, this is my husband Mayor Wallace Kirkfield."

Matthew stood quickly on his wobbling legs as he stretched out his hand in greeting. Mayor Kirkfield looked him over once more before, almost reluctantly, accepting Matthew's hand. Matthew stiffened at the gesture. The hand shake was firm and quick, but Matthew couldn't help but feel a twinge of something beneath it.

"So, this must be the young man who just blew into town last night," Mayor Kirkfield noted flatly. "I should send you a bill for the sign you smashed up."

"Wallace!" Francoise chided lightly as she gave his shoulder a playful swat. "It was an accident, wasn't it Matthew?"

Matthew gave a weak little nod in response and suddenly the spacious room felt incredibly hot and closed in. He felt certain that if he did not escape soon then surely Mayor Kirkfield would tear him limb from limb.

Little Angelique returned then, appearing at Matthew's side as if out of thin air. He was relieved when she began tugging at his sleeve and pulling him towards the door. "Come on, Matt, our tour of the town isn't over," she said as if she were picking up a previous conversation. "Next I'll take you to the docks. The harbor is beautiful this time of day."

"Yeah, sure," Matthew said, eager to leave the tense atmosphere building within the room.

"Oh do come by my shop tomorrow at noon," Francoise insisted as she quickly placed a small card in the pocket of his hoodie as Angelique continued to pull him away. "We shall continue our interview there." Matthew noticed the way Francoise gave him a cheeky little wink as she spoke and he also noticed that Mayor Kirkfield's eyes had hardened further even as Matthew slipped out the door.

"So," Angelique began once they were out the door. Her hand dropped from Matthew's sleeve as she all but hopped down the porch steps and towards the looming gate at the end of the way. "What did you think?"

"I think your mayor's a bit... intense," he said as politely as he could manage, "but his wife is pretty nice."

Angelique turned and smiled triumphantly at him just as the gates began to swing open. "I'm glad you liked her," she beamed. "'Cause she's your mother."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Name Guide:
> 
> Feliciana - Female Italy  
> Catalina - Female Romano  
> Wolfgang - Germany  
> Alvero - Spain  
> Angelique - Seychelles  
> Francoise - Female France  
> Wallace - Scotland
> 
>  
> 
> (Please let me know if you would prefer me to list all the alternate names of every character at the end of the chapter, instead of just the new introductions. (I.E. having Netherlands and Prussia included in the list.))


	3. Chapter 3

Angelique had been right when she told him the harbor was beautiful in the early afternoon. The sky was clear and bright and the sun's rays were shining down across the crisp sparkling water with an intensity that was absolutely breath taking. Seagulls circled overhead and sea water beat steadily against the worn wood of the docks. The scene was a perfect example of all the charm that a New England pier could embody.

Angelique had walked straight to the edge of the docks without a hint of fear before taking a seat on the salt coated wooden planks, swinging her legs in the air as she gazed out across the waters towards the rolling waves as if she were sitting on her own doorsteps waiting to be let in.

Matthew watched her serene posture with envy as he was far too troubled to truly appreciate the atmosphere. His mind was busy reeling from all that had happened less than an hour ago. He huffed and sighed and shoved his hands in his pockets as he walked the length of the worn wood over and over again. "That woman can't be my mother," he said for what must have been the hundredth time that day. "She couldn't have been more than five or six years older than me."

"I know she _looks_ young," Angelique answered, her voice somewhat distant as she continued to stare out to sea, "but she's really much older. You see its part of the curse. Time has been standing still for more than twenty years. It's like that movie, _Groundhog's Day_?, only it never stops. Until last night."

He paused for just a moment, staring at the back of Angelique's head wearily. "Last night?"

"Yeah," she said, twisting around and looking up at him. The sun was just overhead and Angelique had to squint her eyes in order to see him properly. "Things started to change when you and your brother got here. Did you see the old library?" Matthew nodded. "Well the clock tower there was stuck at eight-fifteen for twenty one years, but this morning it started ticking again. Time's starting up and the curse is slowly breaking away."

"Okay, so let's say that Francoise really is my mother," Matthew began slowly, not bothering to hide the doubt or sarcasm in his voice. "Why didn't see remember me?"

"Two reasons," Angelique added as she turned herself back towards the waters. "First, you were seconds old when she last saw you. There's no way she'd be able to recognize you the way you are now. Second, she doesn't remember you because she had her mind wiped. Everyone has, remember?"

"Right, because of the curse." Matthew sighed as he carefully lowered himself down next to Angelique. "So I'm the baker and the mayor's kid?"

"No."

Matthew blinked. "No?"

"No," she said again. "Francoise is your mother, but Wallace isn't your father. He's your uncle."

"My _uncle_?" he laughed. "Why would my uncle be married to my mother?"

Angelique wasn't laughing. Her face, in fact, began to crumple in remorse. "Because your uncle's the one who cast the spell," she explained, her voice weary and low as if the mere act of speaking about this made her physically ill. "He created this whole world just so he could have her. He was madly in love with her, but she chose his youngest brother, your father, over him."

Matthew gave a thoughtful hum as he leaned back on his elbows and looked up at the birds circling above them. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath as he reminded himself that the person he was speaking to was just a kid and likely didn't mean to rile him. He reasoned that there was no way Angelique could know how much the thought of his parents upset him and how imagining his mother as a pretty young lady or even a toothless old hag made his insides twist up. No matter whom his mother was or what she looked like the knowledge that she had abandoned him would always flash into his mind whenever he thought of her and it tainted the whole experience.

"This is a really cute story," he told her after a few more calming breaths. "I can't tell if you had it all planned out or if you're just making it up as you go along. Either way, it's really good."

"Matt," Angelique sighed in an exasperated tone that just didn't suit her young face. "I know it all sounds crazy, but it's the truth! You and your brother are the key to saving us all!" Again she sighed, shaking her head in remorse. "If only I could get you to see." Her head shot straight up then as an idea seemed to form in her mind. "Oh! I know. When does your brother get out of work?"

He shrugged as he checked his watch uselessly. Alfred had never told him any specifics for his hours, but Matthew had a feeling that Ulrich wouldn't keep him too late. "I don't know. Five, maybe six o'clock?"

"Perfect! Meet me at _Red's_ at six. I have something to show you. _Both_ of you." And then she was gone, sprinting towards the town with surprising speed. Matthew watched her until she had completely disappeared from sight and soon he was left alone on the dock with only his thoughts and questions.

\---

Matthew spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the town in the hopes of getting his bearings. He soon discovered that Francoise was right when she had said that Storybrooke was very small as he had managed to cover a good deal of the area on foot in just a few short hours. 

He found Francoise's bakery, or rather _Boulangerie_ as the sign proclaimed, just two blocks down from _The Tulip's Den_ and made sure to make a note of that so as not to be late for the rest of his interview. He found the library that Angelique had mentioned to him and saw that the clock was indeed running, but to Matthew that was no great sight. (What Matthew did find curious was how run down the library looked with its boarded up windows and chipped paint. The doors even appeared to be locked with chains and Matthew couldn't think of any reason why anyone would do such a thing to a library.) There was a school just down the road from the library and Matthew found it quite curious that there appeared to be no distinction on what grade levels were taught there. He stumbled across the grocery store that Ulrich had mentioned, but decided not to go inside. 

By three o'clock Matthew was starting to feel run down and made his way back to the town motel. When he got to the _Tulip_ he found Wilhelm behind the front desk, but he was too engrossed by the newspaper in front of him to notice anything else, allowing Matthew to slip by undetected. He had intended to lay down for just a few minutes, but despite all the coffee he had drank that day, Matthew found his eyes growing impossibly heavy the moment he entered his room and found himself sound asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

He was awoken hours later by the sound of the door knob twisting open. Sluggishly, he opened his eyes and saw from the red orange tinge of the room that the sun had already begun to set. The door creaked open and Matthew blinked and shifted as Alfred crept inside. Their eyes met for a moment and Matthew suddenly remembered his previous annoyance from earlier that day. Yet those feeling went as quickly as they came when Matthew noticed the sheepish look on Alfred's face.

"Hey Mattie," he greeted quietly as he pushed the door closed. "I'm really sorry about this morning. I didn't mean to offend you."

Matthew could tell by the way Alfred hunched his shoulders and rubbed at his arm that he was being sincere and even if he weren't Matthew knew that he didn't really have the energy to hold a grudge over something so minor. "It's alright Alfred," he said as he sat up on his bed. "You don't have to be sorry. I sort of overreacted."

"No, I mean..." Alfred groaned as he fumbled for the right words. He seemed to give up for a moment as he made his way to his own bed, sitting down heavily on the worn springs. "What I said was kinda messed up. I don't really even know you-"

"I don't know you either," Matthew continued. "We're bound to push each other's buttons eventually. It's okay." Alfred nodded, but didn't relax fully. "And just for the record, I don't know about Ulrich, but I wasn't flirting."

"Oh. So you're not-"

"How was your first day of work?" Matthew asked quickly before Alfred could put his foot back in his mouth.

Alfred shrugged, clearly feeling more at ease now that they had changed the subject. "Okay, I guess," he said as he grabbed the remote off the nightstand and switched on the television. A news program instantly flashed to life before them and the week's forecasts were soon being reviewed. "Ulrich is kind of a hardass, but we didn't get a single customer! My truck was the only car in the lot and he didn't even have the parts to work on it. But even though there was nothing to do, he spent the whole day giving me orders and stuff. It was ridic!"

Matthew nodded and Alfred began flipping through channels. They passed two infomercials, a police show, and a court room drama before Alfred landed on an old monster movie. "I think I might have found a job," he announced. Alfred glanced his way and offered him a distracted "yeah?" before turning his attention back to the screen. "At a bakery near here. It's owned by the mayor's wife."

"Heh, so you're going to work in an old lady's kitchen?" he laughed. A part of Matthew wanted to tell Alfred that the baker was actually quite young and beautiful, but then he remembered Angelique's theory and somehow the idea felt awkward. "Well I hope you get the job," Alfred said once the movie shifted into a commercial break. "Wilhelm said that tonight's our last night staying for free. He said we don't have to pay him right away, but he'll expect something by the end of the week."

"Great," Matthew groused. "Looks like I'll have to ask for an advance _if_ I do get this job."

"Yeah, well I have a little bit of change left over. What do you say we go to the diner and grab a light dinner?"

Matthew couldn't object as his stomach was feeling quite empty and he didn't feel up to going to bed hungry. He waited patiently for Alfred to take a quick shower and change out of his work clothes before heading downstairs. This time Wilhelm was absent and Matthew was relieved. 

They made the short walk to _Red's_ and found that the diner was in the middle of another rush. Yet they had no trouble finding a place to sit as Angelique was already there, sitting in a booth in the far corner and waving fervently at the two. "Do you know that kid?" Alfred asked and Matthew blushed as he gave a weak nod.

"She sort of helped me get that job," he told him as they walked towards Angelique's table.

"It's about time you two got here!" Angelique huffed as they slid into the bench across from her. There were already three sets of menus and silverware placed out on the table in front of her and Matthew suddenly felt a bit guilty at having forgotten about her. "I was waiting here for over an hour!" Her perturbed expression quickly softened when her gaze fell on Alfred. "Oh, I'm Angelique."

"Alfred," he returned with a slightly confused smile. "Um do your parents know you're here?"

"Don't worry about me," she said with a dismissive wave, "I'm here to help you two."

Alfred looked over at Matthew, his confusion clearly compounding, but Matthew was unable to do anything more than shrug in exasperation. Alice came by to take their order and Alfred and Matthew agreed on splitting a turkey sandwich while Angelique ordered a cup of hot chocolate. Once Alice was gone, Angelique reached just below the table and pulled out a brown book. Matthew could tell that the book was old just by looking at its beaten up brown cover, but more than that it was quite large, the size of one of those picture books people put on coffee tables only much thicker.

"I should have brought this with me earlier, but well, I forgot," she laughed as she cracked the book open and began flipping through its old yellow pages. 

"Uh, what is that?" Alfred asked as he leaned over slightly in order to get a better look.

"It's the book about my world," she told him and frowned when her words were only met with confused silence. "Matt, didn't you tell him?"

"It's Matthew," he corrected uselessly, "and, well, no I didn't."

Angelique gave a heavy sigh as she pressed down on the page she had landed on and prepared her little speech. "Okay, look," she began impatiently, "this whole town is under a curse. We're all people from another world trapped in Maine under a curse created by an evil king. You two were sent here by your parents to help break the curse and set things right."

"So, this town is under a curse?" Alfred ventured.

"Right."

"And does anyone know about it?"

"No one."

"Except you?"

Angelique opened her mouth to speak, but stopped and reconsidered her words. "Look, remembering is part of my job. I have to remember in order to get you to believe. I'm sort of like the failsafe here."

"Yeah, well, that still doesn't explain _how_ you remember," Alfred pointed out and Matthew couldn't see why he was even continuing this conversation.

"It's not important right now," she groaned with a roll of her eyes. "But look, I have proof that I'm telling the truth." She turned the book to face them and pointed to the large picture on the left page. The picture was old and dingy, but the details of the painting were still fairly clear and Matthew was able to make out a pretty young woman with blonde hair, reddish blonde perhaps, wearing a shredded cloak made of red fabric around her shoulders. She was standing over an unconscious body and holding a gun nearly twice her size at what appeared to be a wolf, although this wolf looked as if it were the size of a bear and its mouth was caked in blood. "That's Alice," Angelique said, pointing at the blonde woman. "She was known as Emma in my world. Here... I guess you'd call her Little Red Riding Hood."

"Alice is Little Red Riding Hood?" Alfred scoffed as he grabbed the book and pulled it closer towards him. Matthew could see a slight resemblance, but it was very slight and the stylized art made him feel comfortable in assuming that it could have been anyone. "Yeah right! She's too old. Red Riding Hood was a kid."

"Yeah, in the stories you know, but our world is a bit different," Angelique told him.

"Okay, fine," Alfred relented, leaning back in his seat. "But if she's Red, then whose the Big Bad Wolf?"

"Wilhelm."

Matthew and Alfred shared a look before twisting around in order to glance over at Wilhelm, standing at the register and glowering at a few of the diners. "Okay," Alfred relented. "I can kinda see that one."

"But they're brother and sister," Matthew argued. "And Wilhelm's a human."

"Well Wilhelm, Laurence in my world, was what you would call a werewolf," Angelique explained. "It's a long story." She began flipping pages again before landing on another one with a clear picture, this time featuring two young men, one with white hair and the other golden blond. They both wore matching green cloaks and had weapons strapped to their waists. "This is Ulrich and Wolfgang," Angelique told them. "They were huntsmen. The king, your uncle, hired them to hunt down criminals. Wolfgang -- Ludwig where I come from -- was _the_ huntsman and always went after the worst of the worst. That's why King James made him the Sheriff."

"James?" Alfred repeated just as Alice returned with their drinks. 

She set two glasses of water down in front of Matthew and Alfred and a small mug of hot chocolate next to Angelique. She smiled and assured them that their order would be ready soon, before disappearing again.

"He's Mayor Wallace Kirkfield here, but he was King James Kirkland in my world." Angelique turned the tattered yellowed pages until she found a picture of Mayor Kirkfield and Matthew couldn't help but see the resemblance there. The man was tall and imposing, just as Mayor Kirkfield had been, with the same intense green eyes and tightly set lips. The major difference was his regal attire and the glittering crown with large red rubies resting on his flaming red hair. It didn't seem to match the image of the tall, well dressed man who, in spite of his imposing appearance gave off a somewhat hesitant vibe. "According to your dad, King James used to be a nice guy, but he went crazy after becoming king. Ever since then he stayed focused on only one thing: getting Marianne to marry him. He created this whole world just so he could have her to himself!"

Matthew didn't say anything and Alfred's only response was to shift around in his chair, causing the plastic fabric to squeak in protest. He could tell from the irritated look on Angelique's face that this wasn't exactly the response she had been expecting. 

"So when's our food getting here?" Alfred grunted as he shifted forward in his chair in order to get a better look towards the kitchen.

"Okay, so you're still not convinced," Angelique huffed as she once again started flipping pages. She heaved a weary sigh when she finally arrived at her page and went to work pointedly smoothing the paper down with the palm of her hand. Angelique cleared her throat and sat a little straighter as she began, "'Once upon a time...'"

"Uh, no," Alfred cut in quickly, not caring at all how harsh the words would sound to young ears. "We are _not_ going to sit here for the next forty-eight hours while you read to us from that encyclopedia of whimsy. Start at the end or the most important part or whatever."

"Fine!" Angelique nearly screamed before flipping pages. _Again_. "I'll skip around a bit."

\---

_Once Upon a Time..._

_...the sun was bright against his tired eyes as the prince stepped out into the free air. He was surely squinting his face in a most undignified manner, yet any notion of disapproval was absent from his love's face, for in that moment she could only bring herself to smile and cry out in glee as she wrapped her milky white arms around his sore neck and rained kisses upon the dirt coated skin of his cheek. How long had it been since they had last stood together like this? As free people, as _humans_ both, warm and ready and whole? _

Too long _, his mind answered as, at long last, he wrapped a weary arm about her waist and pulled her closer._

_Her fine clothes were no doubt ruined from the contact -- dirt and grime rubbing against clean satin -- but for once she did not care. She no longer cared for material fineries. Such things had become as childish to her as toys and games. All that mattered to her stood heavy and weary in her arms. "Oh Arthur!" she breathed, kissing him one last time before settling her cheek against his shoulder._

_"You... you saved me," he said in a voice so hoarse and choked that the sound of it alone was enough to tell of all the hardships the prince had faced since their previous encounter._

_"You saved me first," she reminded him. The princess took a reluctant step backwards in order to better meet his gaze. His head hung low and his shoulders were slumped, but his sharp green eyes were still twinkling with relief and love as they gazed into her own. Her delicate hand slipped into his grasp, squeezing down against fingers that were once as soft and smooth as her own, but were now chapped and blistered from a reluctant journey carried on for too many miles. Her servants and escorts stood guard just a few paces away, but they knew better than to disturb the newly reunited couple at this time. She lead him on a slow, careful walk towards the carriage waiting to take them away, take them to a place where they could rest and breathe easy before reuniting properly. "After all, I would still be in that dreadful swamp if it were not for_ you _, mon cheri."_

_For a moment he smiled, weakly yet fondly, but it lasted only a moment before remorse settled in. "I should never have left you after that," he confessed. "Allowing you to return to the Southlands unaccompanied was the greatest blundered I had made."_

_"Greater than crossing paths with the trolls?" she teased._

_"Greater," he said simply. He gave her fingers a firm squeeze before coming to a halt. Her violet eyes widened slightly in surprise and widened ever more when the prince began to -- slowly, haltingly -- lower himself down onto the ground until at last he was resting upon one knee. "It is one that I intend never to make again."_

_-_

_...the sun's light was warm on their faces as it shone through the stained glass over head. Above them crystals twinkled, candles flickered, and painted eyes watched. Around them watching eyes grew red and misty, flowers perfumed them with their fragrance, and soft strings filled the air with music. Yet the prince and princess took in none of this as they had eyes and ears only for each other._

_"I do," the princess breathed, her gloved hands clutching the elegant bouquet in her hands with barely contained desperation. How her fingers longed to stroke and touch the dear face staring so loving at her. How her lips longed to press against his. How her body trembled with the desire to rip their clothes to shreds and take each other with all the vigor and need that only a newlywed couple could create._

_If only she knew that his own mind was filled with much the same thoughts._

_The bishop smiled encouragingly at the two, blissfully unaware of the carnal desires all but churning through the young lovers' minds as their bodies nearly shook with need. He raised his arms as if to reach out and embrace the two, but only left them hanging high in the air above. "I now pronounce you man and wife," he said grandly as he looked from the prince to the princess and back to the prince. "You may now kiss your bride."_

_The couple needed no further direction as they pressed their lips together, their eyes instantly fluttering closed as they took in the joy of each other's presence. The crowd -- members of court and the loyal citizens of the Bonnefoy Kingdom, distant family that had gathered from afar, and friends who had become as dear to them as kin -- responded with enthusiastic cheers and cries of joy as they watched the loving display._

_For one moment in their shared lives all was as it should be: peaceful, comfortable, and warm. Yet this was a moment that was not meant to last._

_The great hall thundered as the doors flung open, grand oak slamming against polished stone with a booming echo, as a shadow descended upon the happy union. "I object!" a voice all but barked at the two as who else but the Mad King himself appeared before them, flanked by his guards and his most trusted huntsmen._

_The prince sneered and the princess, now queen, stiffened as she grasped at the knife hidden beneath the folds of her wedding gown. "You are too late for that brother. Under the eyes of God we are already wed," the prince informed him, but the king remained unmoved by his words so he continued on. "What is done is done. Will you not leave us in peace?"_

_Around them their own men drew arms, spears and swords raised at the ready as the king’s entourage responded in kind. The citizens shrank back in fright and the last thing anyone wanted was for this once peaceful day to turn into a blood bath._

_The king's eyes, the same emerald green as the prince's, smoldered as he stared not at his youngest brother, but the object of his undying obsession. "You promised yourself to me!"_

_"I promised you nothing!" she returned with a huff. "Is your mind truly failing you, James? When I came to you to free Arthur, you promised an end to this hunt. Do you not honor your word?"_

_For a moment his gaze softened and his eyes grew foggy. An expression settled upon his features, one of quiet panic as he searched about his mind as if trying to collect memories from a dream. Yet all too soon the pathetic gaze was gone in a flash as indignation quickly sat in its place. "Lies!" he seethed. "All lies. You tricked me. You bewitched me! And you..." At last his eyes fell upon the prince who was ashamed to find himself recoiling at the open hate pointed his way by his own sibling. "My own brother, you betrayed me..."_

_"Who are you to speak of betrayal after all that you have put me through!"_

_"Silence!" he barked and all could see that his hands were trembling with the desire to draw his sword and put an end to it all. Yet he restrained himself as his lips twitched into a smug smile. "I will see to it myself that your happiness is short lived," he vowed and to all it seemed that the room had gone darker. "You will pay dearly brother and you, Marianne, you will be mine at last."_

_-_

_... the sun was firmly tucked behind the clouds, much as it had been for some time. Marianne counted the days since their wedding had passed, since James had made his declaration of revenge, and her heart felt heavy. She had thought that at last there would be peace and joy in her life, but clearly it would not be so._

_"The witch my brother has aligned himself with is truly a powerful creature," Arthur said by way of announcing his presence. Marianne supposed she should have given a start at her husband’s sudden appearance, but she simply could not find the energy. These days she could do little more than gaze out the window at the gray sky and watch the days grow darker. "But we must not lose all hope." He was by her side now, easing himself down across from her on the window sill. "Surely there is a way to counter this spell."_

_"There is no hope," Marianne all but sighed as she looked down at the world around her. The trees were dying, the grass was turning brown, and the sound of birds singing had all but become a memory to her ears. The world was ending. She could feel it._

_"How can you say such things?" he demanded, but despite his desperate cry Marianne could tell that there was no passion behind his words. Even a blind man could see the doom that was looming over them._

_She turned to him then and gave him a sad, weak smile as she gently grasped his hand in hers. He stiffened in confusion as she pressed his palm to her belly, revealing the slight swell just at her waist._

_-_

_... they had nearly forgotten what the kiss of the sun upon their face was like. Night and day all but blurred together as the world continued to grow dark and still. Candles were their only solace in these dark days and a part of Arthur was glad that they were numbered for there would surely be a wax shortage if things kept on for much longer._

_Yet no fire could burn brighter than the hope that was ignited within his chest at the news that Tino had presented them. His heart beat quicken for the first time in ages as he grasped his wife's hand from beneath the oak table. He could feel the excitement in her and he said a silent prayer to all that was great and good. "A magic tree?" he repeated and were this not more than three years prior he may have uttered a sharp laugh at having such words leave his own lips._

_There was no laughter, however, as Tino nodded his head, his whole being twinkling bright and blue as he raised an arm and created a glowing bulb that hung just above the polished table. All those gathered within the room were soon treated to the sight of a tall, aged mass of thick twisted branches and bravely blooming leaves. Surely this was the last bit of green left in their world._

_"Deep within the enchanted woods there is a tree that could help us to break this spell," Tino explained. "There is magic within it, magic strong enough to create a portal to another world where the Mad King's hex cannot harm."_

_"Ah, finally," Emma sighed as she brushed a strand of hair back behind her ear and beneath the red hood where it belonged. She turned towards her brother and smiled at him with unabashed hope. "A bit of good news for once!"_

_"Just tell me where to find it and I'll chop it down!" Antonio boasted, gripping his axe eagerly as he all but thrummed in his seat. "And then Berwald can crave it right up."_

_Berwald said nothing. His face remained as blank and passive as ever as he uttered a slight grunt of agreement._

_"I'm afraid it is not as simple as all that," Tino put in, his soft glowing features crumpling into a solemn frown as he spoke. "Yes, we must cut down the tree and fashion it into a doorway, but the magic within is quite limited and will not carry more than two."_

_Arthur felt his heart grow heavy and sink just as Marianne's fingers, terribly cold and thin, gave a sorrowful squeeze._

_-_

_... the moon was veiled, the stars were gone, and the night had a sort of chill that not even fire could dispel. They stayed bundled in their winter cloaks and sat by the fireplace shivering from more than just the night air. "I cannot do this. I will not leave you."_

_"We have no choice," Arthur huffed, a puff of breath escaping his lips as he did so. "You heard Tino's words just as clearly as I did: only two can be transported."_

_"And why can't you be one of the two?" she countered. "Your life is just as sacred as mine!"_

_"You are this child's_ mother _! He will need you most of all." Arthur frowned, shaking his head ruefully. "This is the last word I will say on the matter."_

 _At that Marianne's eyes flashed and she stood with more speed and fire than anyone in her state should have. She towered over him, jaw set and nostrils flared. "The last word you shall say indeed," she huffed. "Last I have heard it was_ I _who was named_ Queen _of this realm. You are no more than a mere Prince Consort."_

_Arthur stood at that and soon his own eyes were flashing as he waggled a finger in her direction. "Prince or king I am still your husband and you shall obey my word!"_

_She struck him, he struck her, and before long the two dissolved into nothing more than a sobbing pathetic mess as they clung to each other desperately in search of some sort of warmth. "I cannot bare," Marianne breathed, her fingers digging into the folds of his cloak until her knuckles were all but white. "The thought of losing you again..."_

_"I know," he sighed as heavy tears fell from his eyes. "I know."_

_-_

_... it was the darkest day in memory when it all began. The winds had returned and were churning and howling with a stinging bite that tore deep into the skin. The earth was shaking, trembling frantically as if the very ground beneath them would soon tear apart. And the lightning, the lightning split and crashed and pierced the sky and for many it was the only light they had seen for some time._

_The time had arrived, the curse was finally upon them, and Arthur found that it was darkly fitting that their child would choose this moment to enter this doomed world. He did his best to put on a brave front, to drown out the sound of panicked cries drifting to them from just beyond the door, tried not to think about the way the ground shifted and rocked below, and tried so desperately not to focus on the frost in the air. He fought against all this and instead set his mind upon his wife, moaning and writhing in pain, as she held his hand and sobbed pathetically._

_The hours that stretched on between them felt like mere minutes and before long Arthur soon found his ears greeted by the sound of a weak little cry as their son was laid upon Marianne's chest. They barely had time to sigh in relief and fawn over fingers and toes that were impossibly small, because right away Marianne could feel that something was amiss. In seemingly no time at all another child was pushed out into the world and all the bitter sweet joy of this moment was washed away when Arthur remembered Tino's words from months ago._

_Only two would leave their dying world tonight._

_-_

_... for the first time in twelve long months Arthur felt warm. Yet this was a warmth not born of a fire's glow nor the sun's light nor even a tender kiss. It was the blood that was pooling just below his chest, gushing out from the wound created by the sword plunging within that reminded him of what it was to feel something other than a biting chill._

_His eyes grew heavy and the world began to blur and spin, but still he saw..._

_He saw his brother standing high above him, face pale and stricken as he held the blood soaked weapon in his hands._

_He saw the bodies of fallen soldiers lying at his feet, lying in what should have been his children's nursery._

_He saw the old tree, carved and hollowed and fashioned into a wardrobe. He had tucked the boys in there and now the little wooden door swung open to reveal that the twins had disappeared and if that was the last thing he saw he would be content with that knowledge._

_-_

_...Marianne had never felt more powerless than she did at that very moment. His was not the first corpse she had seen: her mother had died of a terrible fever when she was not but a toddling child and her father just two years past had slipped away before her very eyes, yet this..._

_It had taken every last ounce of strength within her to push her body, weak and utterly spent from birthing two children just moments ago, out of bed and towards the nursery where Arthur had disappeared. She had heard the fighting and was compelled to go to her husband's side, yet she had been too late. Far too late._

_She didn't remember crossing the room or falling to her knees, but when she opened her eyes, her vision blurred with still falling tears, she was cradling Arthur's body -- limp and cold and far too still -- in her arms. Blood had soaked most of his chest and his eyes had already gone glassy, but somehow he managed to breath, weak and ragged. "Arthur!" she wept as she ran her fingers through his hair. "Oh Arthur!"_

_"Sa... safe," he managed to breath as his fingers, trembling and blood soaked, pointed towards the wardrobe just beyond._

_Yet Marianne could not see the door, could not see that their children were far beyond their reach. She could only see James and she hated him more than she had ever hated anyone in her life. "You," she all but hissed at him, unmoved by the sight of tears streaking down the king’s own cheeks. "You did this."_

_James, who had been staring at Arthur's dying frame since landing the killing blow, allowed his eyes to drift away and meet Marianne's burning gaze. "No, I... I never wanted this. I never wanted him to_ die _!" He breathed in, slow and deep and suddenly his shoulders squared and his jaw clenched as all sorrow disappeared from his eyes. "If only you had let me have you. None of this would have happened."_

 _"You killed your own brother," Marianne seethed as she gripped the limp frame closer to her chest. "You stand before me with his blood on your hands and yet... and yet you blame_ me _?"_

_The King said nothing, he could say nothing, for the time for words had passed as the doors flung open and thick black clouds came rolling in to greet them. "It does not have to be this way," he swore as the air, the very world itself, began to swirl and sway around them. "I can still fix this."_

\---

Meanwhile, in a land far far away...

They had already finished their meal by the time Angelique spoke her last word. The dinner rush had come and gone and suddenly the once crowded diner felt very vast and open as Alfred and Matthew sat in their booth mulling over everything that had been said.

Alfred couldn't say much about the story itself, but he could tell from the way Angelique had told it that she truly believed every word she had read, and that alone left him intrigued if nothing else. "So, what happened to them?" Alfred asked as he folded his arms on top of the table. The remains of their turkey sandwich were still sitting in front of them and he had to resist the urge to lick the crumbs off the plate as his stomach gently growled at him. "The prince and princess, that is?"

"Well, the _Queen_ owns the bakery and is the mayor's wife," Angelique explained as she closed the book with a heavy thud. 

"And the prince?"

A sad sort of look settled on her face then and a small part of Alfred regretted asking. "I don't know," she said simply with an almost sheepish shrug of her shoulders. "I've looked all over, but I never found him. I think the King hid him somewhere so that he and Marianne won't ever meet."

Alfred nodded because that made sense to him. As much sense as any of this could possibly make that is. He opened his mouth to ask another question, but was interrupted by the sound of Mattie clearing his throat.

"I think I'm going to call it a night," Mattie announced and for a moment it seemed like he was going to say more, but he seemed to decide against it as he slid out of his side of the booth and instantly began to walk away. 

"Hey wait!" Alfred called out because he still had to pay the bill. Yet Mattie didn't as much as pause in his brisk walk towards the door.

"Matt doesn't believe," Angelique concluded with a heavy sigh and Alfred decided to turn his attention back towards her. "You have to help me to convince him."

"Hey, kid, _I_ don't think I'm convinced either," he laughed just as Alice dropped off their check before quickly moving on. "I mean, it's all kinda hard to swallow. Princesses and curses and-"

"Don't bother trying to play the part of the skeptic," Angelique chided. "We may have just met Alfred, but I know your type. You're a believer. Ever since you were a kid you were searching for something to believe in, something to give your life meaning, something to give you some sort of hope that you're not just a number. You believe me and no matter how many 'perfectly reasonable questions' your mind comes up with between now and the time you head back to your room, you're still going to believe.

"Matt on the other hand," she frowned, leaning back in her chair as she considered just what to say. "His feet are planted a bit too firmly on the ground to start buying into any of this fairy tale stuff. So you're gonna have to help me to get him on our side."

"Me? Why me? I barely know the guy!"

"Come on, Alfred! Don't play dumb. He's your brother. Even if you've spent most of your lives apart you're still brothers and you still have a bond."

Alfred felt himself tense at the words. He was tempted to argue that they weren’t brothers, but it was starting to get hard for him to fight off the idea that he and Mattie were related in some way. After all, he had noticed their resemblance the first time he had gotten a good look at Mattie in clear light and the fact that they were both orphans and practically the same age … coincidental. 

“I don’t know,” he said at last, feeling tired and weighed down. He suddenly wanted to go back to the motel and crawl into bed, but the idea that Mattie was there soured the idea. “I… I just don’t know. I think… I think he needs time. We both need time.”


	4. Chapter 4

When he returned to their room Mattie was in the shower and Alfred was relieved as it provided him with the perfect excuse not to bring up what happened in the diner. Angelique’s words were still swirling around in his head as he stepped out of his shoes and flopped down on his own bed. Her little book had been cute, but the fairy tale wasn’t the part that kept gnawing at him. 

Angelique had said that he and Mattie had a bond and Alfred kept finding himself stumbling back to that word. She hadn’t been the first person to notice their resemblance, but she had put it into a word that just felt so right. He wanted to hold onto that, to believe that there was something connecting them, because if he had a brother, a twin brother, then that was more than he could have ever hoped for. 

Yet he had a feeling that Mattie wouldn’t share his excitement. They were both orphans, so Mattie would likely be aware that siblings got separated all the time in the adoption system, but given the way he had stormed off tonight, Alfred felt safe in saying that he was the more pessimistic type. If Alfred were to approach him about looking into this further, he felt certain that it would only upset Mattie even more.

The sound of the bathroom door creaking open pulled Alfred out of his thoughts and back into the present. He looked up just as Mattie stepped out into the main sleeping area wearing a t-shirt and boxers. His hair was still dripping with water as he dabbed his strands with a towel. Mattie blinked in surprise at Alfred’s hunched form sitting on the foot of his bed, his eyes likely having a hard time focusing without his glasses.

“Oh… hey,” Mattie began awkwardly as he reached into his pocket in order to grab his glasses. “I didn’t hear you come in.”

Alfred shrugged. “You were in the shower.”

Mattie nodded and slipped on his frames, but said nothing as he continued to dry his hair while he walked towards his side of the room. 

It was still early evening, too early for either of them to go to sleep even if they both had a busy day tomorrow, yet Alfred felt tempted to do just that in order to avoid the awkwardness that had settled between them. He should have seen this coming. They had hit it off so well that it was only natural they would come across some tension sooner or later. If he were being honest with himself, Alfred was surprised it hadn’t happened sooner. He had been told before that his personality could get a bit grating in large doses and he did have a tendency to drive people away with his dense nature. 

“Don’t you want to watch some TV?” Mattie asked.

Alfred found himself instinctively reaching for the remote on the bedside table, but stopped himself to study Mattie’s face. He looked worried and tired, but not angry so that was good. “Um, if you’re okay with it.”

“Yeah,” Mattie shrugged. “Yeah, I don’t mind. Just… maybe don’t keep it on while we’re sleeping?”

“Okay.” Alfred allowed his body to relax a bit as he turned and clicked on the TV. “Okay, sure.”

*

Alfred woke up early the next morning in order to sneak down to the lobby. They didn’t have enough money for breakfast and Alfred didn’t feel like running up a tab at the diner, but he remembered the basket of apples that Wilhelm kept by the front desk. It wouldn’t be much of a breakfast, but it was better than nothing. It was seven by the time he crept downstairs and was relieved to see neither Wilhelm nor Alice behind the counter. He took the opportunity to grab four apples before sneaking back upstairs to his room. Mattie was still asleep just as Alfred had expected, so he left two apples for him beside his glasses and quickly ate the other two before heading off to work.

The garage was a short distance from the inn, so Alfred felt comfortable making his commutate on foot, yet the New England weather was particularly brisk that day and the morning air seemed to find its way into all the holes in his jacket. His teeth were chattering by the time he was pushing the door to the mechanic shop open.

He wasn’t surprised to see that Ulrich was already inside when he entered. He was standing behind the counter carefully pouring seed into Little Ullie’s feeding tray and seemed too engrossed in his task to acknowledge Alfred’s presence.

“Is it always so cold in the mornings?” Alfred grumbled as he shrugged out of his jacket and placed it on the hook by the door.

“Well, it is Maine,” Ulrich said distantly as he opened the latch to the bird cage in order to place the food inside. “And we’re like a day from October, so yeah. Pretty much.”

Ulrich switched his focus to measuring out water for his pet as Alfred slipped into the back in order to change into his jumpsuit. He didn’t really see the point in changing, since there still weren’t any cars in the garage and most of the people in Storybrooke seemed to get around either on foot or by bike. Alfred had a feeling that Ulrich was just using him as an excuse to have someone to boss around. 

“I’ve got a job for you today, kid,” Ulrich announced just as Alfred re-entered the front of the shop. He watched as Ulrich kicked a beaten up old box out from beneath the counter and over in his direction. Alfred frowned as he glanced down at the assortment of paper jack-o-lanterns and skeletons stuffed inside. “I want you to make this place look nice and Halloweenie.”

“Isn’t it a little early for Halloween?” Alfred groused even as he bent down to dig out the decorations.

“It’s never too early,” he laughed as picked up the bird cage and carried it back to its usual hook on the ceiling. “What’s up your butt? Did Wilhelm hound you for money?”

Alfred paused in the middle of sorting through pumpkin banners as the image of the giant wolf from Angelique’s book flashed before his eyes. He frowned and shook the thought from his head. “Uh, no,” he said at length. “Just had a weird night.”

Ulrich hummed and poured out two cups of coffee. “Wanna talk about it?”

“Not really,” Alfred said as Ulrich handed him one of the Styrofoam cups.

“C’mon kid, humor me. I’m a mechanic in what has to be the greenest town in New England. The next oil change I’ve got scheduled is a _week_ from now. And it’s my brother who, as the Sheriff, owns one of the like three cars in this town.”

Alfred laughed as he cradled the cup in his hand. “Yeah, well, I’ve just been thinking...” He took a sip of his coffee and did his best not to grimace at the bitter taste. He didn’t usually take his coffee black and this pot was clearly made from a very dark roast. Alfred stood in order to add some milk and sugar, only to find that Ulrich had none available. “Mattie… You know Mattie? The guy I came to town with?” Ulrich nodded. “Well, we met that same night, never saw each other before, but we look a lot alike and I think we’re about the same age. So I’m thinking: are we brothers or is this just a one in a billion coincidence and that’s it? It’s weird.”

“It’s super weird,” Ulrich confirmed. “But I’m glad you noticed. That Mattie guy seemed like he was in denial when I talked to him yesterday.”

“He’s the skeptical type… I guess.” He shook his head and tried to drink the coffee again. It didn’t taste as harsh this time. “You gotta be thick skinned when you’re on your own. When you’re an orphan, it’s just you against the world. There’s no body to look after you, no body’s got your back, but… But maybe Mattie’s that guy for me and I’m that guy for him, ya know? I’ve always wanted a brother.”

“Having a brother’s tough,” Ulrich smiled fondly as he drank nearly half his coffee in one gulp. “It’s tough, but great too. If you think there’s a chance you two are related then why not look into it? It can only be a good thing.”

He nodded, feeling a bit more solid at the prospect of having someone else in his corner on this. Alfred smiled and took another gulp of coffee, determined to find a hospital after work.

*

“I don’t really have any references,” Matthew admitted sheepishly as he filled out the employment forum Francoise had given him. 

Her bakery was even nicer on the inside than he had expected. There was plenty of natural lighting and fresh flowers in delicate vases on top of the small tables lining the space by the window. The walls were a pure white with tasteful purple accents, framed photos of Paris decorated the walls, and lovely stringed music flowed in from the speakers mounted on the walls. 

Once again he felt like a smudge as he stood there in his ratty clothes that he had worn without washing yet again. However, Francoise continued to be overly pleasant and forgiving as she over looked his clothes and his unkempt hair and lack of a resume and allowed him to fill out the paperwork anyway. She had even given him another cup of coffee and fresh pastries when she had noticed that his stomach was growling. If there truly was a parallel universe where Francoise was his mother, then that version of him would be the luckiest kid alive.

His hand stilled at the thought. He didn’t understand why he had felt so strange after Angelique had read to him from her book, but the rest of that night had just felt jumbled and wrong. As grateful as he was for Angelique helping him to find this job, a part of him hoped that he didn’t come across her again while he was stuck in Storybrooke.

“Would you like another choux, Matthew?” Francoise asked sweetly having likely noticed the way that his mind had drifted. 

“Oh, no thanks,” he blushed as he continued to skim over the document. “I’m stuffed.”

“Well, I shall be sure to pack you and your friend a few goodies for later,” she said with a demure smile. “And do not worry about the references. I have a talent for reading people and I can tell just by looking at you that you are a good, reliable young man. I am sure that you and I will get along just fine.”

“You’re really too kind, Mrs. Kirkfield-”

“Oh please, Matthew, call me ‘Francoise,’” she said with an elegant wave of her hand.

His cheeks felt warm at her words. “Well, Francoise, I really have to thank you for this opportunity. I can only hope that I live up to your expectations.”

“I am sure you will,” she smiled as she turned and walked towards the counter and motioned for him to follow along. The glass of the display was spotless and shined in the early afternoon light. Behind the glass were rows and rows of freshly baked pastries, arranged on clear plastic trays with little place cards announcing their names. “Now, part of your job will be to maintain the front of the store. I like to keep my shop as beautiful and elegant as myself, so be sure to keep the display stocked and sweep the floors periodically. When a customer comes in, you will greet them, take their orders, and package their foods. Remember: always wear gloves when touching the pastries.

“Tomorrow, I will teach you how to work the register and show you the forums you will give customers who place large orders or request catering for their events.” Matthew made sure to nod at everything Francoise said even as he followed her into the rear of the store. 

The kitchen wasn’t at all like the one at the fast food restaurant that he had worked in. For one thing it was far more spacious and the floors, walls, and equipment all looked brand new and spotless. A part of him wondered if Francoise ever had any business given how clean everything seemed. “This is where I create my art,” Francoise announced with a pleasant chortle as she waved grandly at the convection oven and massive stand mixer behind her. “I typically spend most of the day either in here or in my office. Other than helping me with inventory or packaging orders, I do not require you to have much of a presence here so you will not have to worry about learning to use any of the equipment.”

“Do you get large orders very often?”

“Sometimes,” she said with a note of disappointment. “Occasionally my wonderful husband will order bagels for his colleagues in city hall or Wolfgang will place an order for doughnuts for his deputies, but otherwise it is usually just small orders.”

For a moment Matthew wondered if there would be much for him to do given how small the town seemed and how slow the business was, but he quickly reminded himself that he was only going to be in Storybrooke for as long as Alfred’s car needed repairs. Having a quiet job in a stress free environment might be the best thing for him.

A heavy knock came at the back door and Francoise was practically beaming as she went to answer it, motioning for Matthew to accompany her. “That will be Alvero with my grocery order,” she said brightly just as another knock came. 

When Francoise opened the door there was a man with a healthy tan and scruffy brown hair holding a large basket of green apples in his arms. “Here are the apples you ordered, Francoise,” the man, Alvero, greeted brightly as he made his way into the kitchen. “Are you planning on baking some apple pie for _Red’s_?”

“Well, Alice has not placed an order just yet, but there is already a demand for my apple tarts.” Francoise smiled and placed a fond hand on Matthew’s shoulder, gently steering him in Alvero’s direction as she gave his bicep a fond squeeze. “Alvero, I would like to introduce you to Matthew. He will be my new assistant.”

Alvero’s smile, if at all possible, actually grew wider as he turned to shake Matthew’s hand. He had a grip that would be better suited for a lumber jack than a grocer, but Matthew managed to fight back against the urge to wince and smiled politely. “Nice to meet see you Matthew. Hey! You’re one of the strangers that came to town, aren’t you?”

“How’d you guess?” Matthew asked with a sheepish chuckle.

“Ulrich told me about you. He said you might come by my shop looking for work.” Alvero gave out a good natured laugh as he stuffed his hands into his pockets. “I guess Francoise scooped you up first, huh?”

“Actually, Angelique found him for me,” Francoise amended and Matthew barely managed to stop himself from flinching at the name.

Alvero let out a sharp laugh at that. “That sounds like Angelque! She’s always looking out for you.”

Matthew knew that it would be best to let the subject shift, but his interest was suddenly piqued by Alvero’s words. “Is Angelique…? Is she related to you, Francoise?”

Francoise and Alvero laughed at his question and Matthew felt himself blush at having been foolish enough to ask. “Oh no, we are not related,” she said kindly. “She is just a friend.”

“Angelique lives down by the docks with her grandfather,” Alvero explained fondly, “but she seems to spend most of her time following Francoise around.”

“Has she always been like that?”

The vacant expression soon settled upon Francoise face, just as it had the other day, yet this time Matthew was stunned to see the same glassy eyed gaze in Alvero’s own green eyes. Goosebumps spread across his arms as he watched the two simultaneously close their eyes and shake their heads as if emerging from twin slumbers. “Yes,” Francoise said distantly, her usually brilliant smile turning wavy as she spoke. “Yes I suppose so.”

Matthew nodded and said nothing to this and for the first time since he had arrived in Storybrooke he began to feel uneasy.

*

The bell above the front door rang for the first time since he had entered the garage at two thirty that afternoon and Alfred instantly found himself twisting around in order to give the new comer his full attention. He was so grateful to have someone come in and distract him from his task of setting up Halloween decorations that he almost jumped off of the step ladder he’d been using to hang paper skeletons on the ceiling. Yet his excitement deflated when he saw that it was only Angelique.

“Hey a customer!” Ulrich called out as he emerged from his office where he had likely been watching the weather channel and drinking coffee for the last two hours. His enthusiasm didn’t seem to falter when his red eyes landed on the young girl standing in the middle of his garage. “Hey kid. You need to get some air pumped in your bike tires?”

“Not today, Ulrich,” Angelique said casually as she adjusted the strap of her backpack against her shoulder, “but feel free to try to sell me on having them rotated if you feel like it.”

“Hey, that’s ‘Mr. Reitherman’ to you, squirt,” he said harshly, his eyes and his tone flat. Angelique only responded with a knowing look and soon Ulrich’s face was split with a disarming grin. “I’m just bustin’ your chops!” he laughed before waving her off. Ulrich grabbed one of the car magazines stuffed in a rack by the waiting area and then disappeared back into his office.

Alfred frowned as he slowly descended from the step ladder. “Uh, how do you know Ulrich?” he asked by way of greeting and was rewarded with an indifferent shrug.

“Everybody knows everybody here,” Angelique said in an oddly bored tone of voice as she slipped out of her backpack and walked over to the half empty box of decorations. “It’s your typical small town deal. You guys decorating for Halloween, huh? Ulrich always does like to get an early start.”

He felt his frown deepen as he did his best to process what Angelique was saying. For a moment he wondered if she had given up trying to convince him about the whole curse thing, but he doubted that was the case. “I thought you said every day was the same here?” he said in order to gauge her reaction. 

Angelique sighed wearily as she crouched down to reach inside the box and pull out a fake plastic skull. “I guess you could say it’s more like every year is the same and the days that make up the time in between stay the same, too. Like how Ulrich will always decorate his shop early because he thinks it’ll get customers, or how Catalina will always forbid her sister from talking to the sheriff on Valentine’s Day, or the fact that every Thanksgiving Francoise will refuse to sell pumpkin pie no matter how much everyone begs.”

“Now _that_ sounds like the typical small town deal.”

Bitterness seemed to twist Angelique’s face as she pinned him with a withering look. “How about the fact that I’ve been twelve years old for _twenty one years_?” she returned flatly. “Do you have any idea how many times I was forced to read ‘Romeo and Juliet’? I mean, that Shakespeare guy was good, but I’d like to try reading some of his other plays for once!”

“That’s rough,” he said sympathetically. “So did you ever try telling anyone else around here about this curse stuff?”

She shook her head. “I wish it was that simple. I’ve tried and it always ends badly.” Angelique didn’t bother to elaborate as she stood there silent for a few moments before handing the plastic skull over to him. “How’s Matt doing?”

“Um, I dunno,” he shrugged as he looked for a decent spoke to put the decoration. Angelique pointed him to the cash register and Alfred placed the skull beside a display advertising a brand of car wash he had never seen before. “I didn’t really get a chance to talk to him. I think he’s at the bakery doing his interview or something.”

“I stopped by, but he wasn’t there,” she told him. “He’s probably in his room or at the diner.”

Alfred nodded as he took a moment to consider his next words carefully. Angelique handed him a few plastic pumpkins which he went about arranging behind the register as she directed. “Do you know where the hospital is?”

Angelique’s eyes widen at the question. “You’re not sick are you? Or hurt? I know you guys were in an accident, but I thought the damage was just to your car!”

“No, no, it’s not like that,” he said quickly, silently marveling at how mature she could make herself sound at times. “I… I kinda wanna look into getting a blood test or something. I mean, I’m not really sold on this curse thing, but… if Mattie and I are brothers…”

A calculating look flashed before Angelique’s eyes as she considered this option. “Hard proof might help to convince Matt or at least get him to warm up to the idea. He seems like the type who needs solid evidence. What time do you get out of work?”

Alfred glanced at his watch and saw that it was just past three o’clock. “In like three hours.”

“Great. I’ll come back at six and take you to the hospital.”

*

Matthew was ashamed to admit that he felt himself grow tense at the sight of the large white van parked in the rear of the bakery. It had only been two days since the accident and just the sight of another car made his head throb with the memory of the way his whole body had jerked upon impact or the grating sound of metal colliding with brick. Francoise did not seem to notice this as she dangled the keys in front of his nose, her well-manicured fingers waiting expectantly for him to respond to her silent command. 

“Are… are you sure you want me to drive?” he asked hesitantly. “I… I don’t really know my way around and…”

“That is exactly the point, Matthew,” Francoise told him as she cocked her head and placed her free hand on her hip. Everything the woman did seemed deliberate and precise, as if she were preparing for a photo shoot to take place at any moment. “You will need to make deliveries and you must familiarize yourself with the town.”

“Yes, but I…” he began awkwardly, realizing mid-sentence that there was no sense in telling Francoise of his accident since she was already aware of the exact circumstances that had brought him to Storybrooke. Yet he sighed and soon found himself saying “I’m not the greatest driver.”

Francoise chortled at his words and Matthew was relieved when she curled her fingers around the keys and pulled her hand away. “Well, I suppose that is true enough,” she said with a deliberate wink. “And I spoke with Wallace. He will not bill you for the sign. He is, as usual, all talk.”

He gave a strangled laugh as Francoise walked towards the van, where she opened the door and slide wordlessly into the driver’s seat. Matthew walked briskly over to the passenger door, pushing back the faint buzz of hesitation churning in his belly as he sat down and buckled his seat. The engine hummed to life as Francoise backed out of the small alleyway and onto the narrow road.

“Storybrooke is very small, so this should not take long,” Francoise explained as they came to a halt in front of a stop sign. “I can drop you off at the _Tulip_ when we are done.”

“Oh, that’s okay. You needn’t trouble yourself.”

“It is no trouble at all.” She smiled and even if all the generosity she had shown him made Matthew a bit uneasy, he still felt warmed by her kind violet eyes and the gentle curl of her lips.

Francoise drove slowly and spoke at a steady pace as she carefully pointed out all the important sights that they past. There was no traffic on the road and Matthew was starting to wonder if anyone in Storybrooke even owned a car. 

“That is the school,” Francoise said as she motioned towards the brick building behind the chain linked fence on the right side of the road. The building looked empty and there were only a few adults in slacks and dress shirts out front talking beneath the flag pole. Clearly class had ended some time ago, but Matthew still couldn’t see what grades were taught there since all the children seemed to have left for the day. “The principal orders pastries on Fridays for the staff.”

“Isn’t that your husband?” Matthew cut in suddenly as the sight of the red headed man’s imposing figure entered his field of view seemingly out of the blue. Francoise stopped the van and turned her eyes in order to follow Matthew’s gaze. She frowned curiously at the sight of Mayor Kirkfield standing amongst the school teachers, having what looked like an intense conversation. It was impossible to make out what was being said at their distance, but Matthew could see the hard set of the Mayor’s jaw and the way one of the female teachers very politely shook her head at him.

“Strange,” Francoise mused as she gently leaned towards Matthew’s side of the car. “Wallace did not mention visiting the school today. Perhaps he is arranging some field trip for the children?”

The two of them watched as Mayor Kirkfield gave the teachers he had been speaking with a final nod before stepping away. As he turned to walk away, his eyes seemed to catch sight of their van and Matthew couldn’t help but feel as if he had been caught. His body felt too warm and painfully stiff as Mayor Kirkfield began to march purposefully in their direction. Francoise hummed as she settled back into her seat in order to set the car in park. Matthew felt himself unconsciously press his back flat against the fabric of the chair as the passenger side window slid down just as the mayor reached the sidewalk.

“Bonjour, mon amour!” Francoise called pleasantly as Mayor Kirkfield pressed his large hand down on the side of the van in order to lean in and gaze inside. Matthew felt himself actually begin to sweat and his throat start to tighten, yet he couldn’t quiet grasp why he suddenly felt so nervous. “What brings you by this part of town?”

“I could ask you much the same, love,” he began. There was a forced tenderness to his words that was clearly meant to mask something harsher underneath as his eyes flickered between Francoise and Matthew. “Making a delivery?”

Francoise smiled and placed a hand on Matthew’s shoulder, a gesture that caused Mayor Kirkfield’s jaw to tighten and made Matthew flinch at the daggers being thrown in his direction. “Wallace, cher, you remember our discussion last night, yes? I have decided to hire Matthew here as my assistant.”

“Assistant?” Mayor Kirkfield echoed, pushing the word out as if it left a bitter taste on his tongue. 

“Temporary assistant,” Matthew decided to throw in quickly hoping to alleviate some of the tension in the air. “Only until Alfred’s… um, that is… until my friend’s car is repaired.” 

“I was just showing Matthew around when we came across you speaking with the principal in the school yard, mon cher,” Francoise went on, affectively redirecting the conversation. “Were you arranging a field trip of some sort for the children?”

“Hardly,” the Mayor said flatly. “I was just discussing the truancy problem they seem to be neglecting.”

“Truancy?” Francoise echoed, her voice colored with concern. 

“That Angelique girl,” he went on. “She’s always wandering off here and there whenever she pleases and no one at that bloody school seems keen on putting a stop to it.”

“Wallace, mon amour, Angelique is a good girl. She’s just…”

“She’s a bad influence on the other children,” he cut in and Matthew suddenly realized he was trapped in the middle of an argument the two had likely had many times before. “Mark my words, if her wandering isn’t put in check the rest of the students will pick it up and then we’ll have a town over run by delinquents.”

“Oh, Wallace!” Francoise huffed with a slight roll of her eyes. “You are always so certain that the town will fall apart around you. It is just like when you closed down the library.”

“That building was condemned Francoise. Black mold in the stairwells! We can’t very well have our citizens breathing in that poison.”

“What I do not understand is why you do not just have it repaired? Renovate it and be done with it.”

“That’s you all over Francoise, isn’t it? If there’s a problem we should just throw money at it. We are in the middle of a recession if you don’t remember. The government can’t be expected to pour money we don’t have into little issues.”

“The government should absolutely be expected to take care of the things that concern its citizens,” Francoise countered, sitting straighter in her seat as she wagged a chiding finger in the Mayor’s direction. “A library is a necessity. It gives children somewhere educational to spend their free time, gives those without access to new information, and provides shelter to those in need of it. This is not a ‘little issue’ as you call it. It is a beautiful, _useful_ building that has become a glaring eye sore!”

A bright red began to color’s the Mayor’s face as his lips tightened in annoyance. Matthew watched as his heavy brows knitted together and his back straightened. “Love,” he said in a tight, flat voice as he pointedly used his free hand to press his deep green tie against his dress shirt. “I don’t think that this is the time or place for us to be having this discussion.”

Their eyes seemed to flicker and shift in Matthew’s direction simultaneously and desperately he wished that he could just evaporate into thin air instead of spending another second between the husband and wife. 

“Very well,” Francoise returned with a very pointed huff as she shifted the van back into drive. She pulled back onto the road without another word, completely unconcerned as to whether or not Wallace was able to move himself out of the path of her tires as she drove away.

“That man,” she huffed after several tense seconds, driving past a stop sign without batting an eye and suddenly Matthew regretted not accepting Francoise’s offer to drive. “Honestly, he runs this city as if he were the king and all of us his subjects.”

Matthew could only muster a tight laugh as the continued to drive.


End file.
